Skip to Main Content

Study of Student and Faculty Habits (INAP) Reports

On March 4th and 5th, 2025, the Information Needs Assessment team visited Franklin College and conducted one of the methods in our toolkit (day mapping). A total of 13 students participated in the study.  You can view the report from that visit here:

https://bit.ly/franklin-inap

Noteworthy Findings

  • Many students reported studying while at their place of employment. 
  • Students rely on relational networks. Many study consistently with the same people regardless of what classes they are taking. Others study in specific groups of people who are in the same classes as them. Some students ask their friends/roommates/classmates questions about classes before they ask the professor. 
  • Students expressed an avoidance of office hours because it is another thing to schedule into their day.
  • Students, especially student athletes, note the lack of snack options available on campus and many others also carry food and snacks with them. 
  • Many students want the option for distractions as a break whether that is looking out of a window to “zone out” or chatting with friends or staff. 
  • Students love the first floor of the library. When asked what would make it better, they rarely had any suggestions. 
  • While students use AI in a variety of ways, the most commonly reported use was to have it explain course topics and other material.  

In March and April of 2025, the Information Needs Assessment team at Goshen College conducted one of the methods in our toolkit (day mapping). A total of 14 students participated in the study. You can view the report from that visit here:

https://bit.ly/goshen-inap-25 

Noteworthy Findings

  • Students loved whiteboards and included them in almost all of their dream workspaces. 
  • The daily routines of these students were fairly structured. They regularly included early morning classes and athletic practices with few mentions of late nights. 
  • Campus owned technology, including printers, laptops, and computer labs, were mentioned frequently by this group of students. They gravitated to spaces that had these resources.
  • Students specifically chose places to study where they could have food and drink with them. 
  • As international students, these students do not have the ability to leave campus for quick trips home, and thus have chosen specific places where they feel comfortable in a home away from home type feeling.
  • Students often described their dream study spaces as containing individual spaces within a large space, such as individual study rooms. 
  • When asked about AI usage, some students said they did not regularly use these tools for academic work, but were also vague and responded in ways that implied that they were concerned the interviewer was trying to catch them in bad behavior.