IN THEIR OWN WORDS: AN ONLINE STRATEGY FOR INCREASING ... · AN ONLINE STRATEGY FOR INCREASING...

IN THEIR OWN WORDS:AN ONLINE STRATEGY FOR INCREASING STRESS-

COPING SKILLS AMONG COLLEGE FRESHMEN

DAVID R. EARNEST

WILLIAM 0. DWYER

The University of Memphis

Student retention has become a common problem in higher edu-cation. This study involved the design and evaluation of aprototype Website that allowed university students to listen tochallenges and stressors faced by college freshman and solutionsthey used to overcome those challenges as told by other collegestudents. The purpose of this "In Their Own Words" approachwas to reduce freshman attrition by having peers give new orprospective students a "realistic job preview" of the academicand social stressors typically encounter in college and strategiesfor dealing with them. Survey results are presented along with adiscussion of the potential implications for increasing retentionby reducing stress and anticipatory stress among students enter-ing college for the first time.

With the exception of the more selec-tive colleges and universities, the problemof student retention has become a majorissue in American higher education.Nationally, the baccalaureate graduationrate is only 57% (Horn, 2006), a situationthat leads to a reduced skill set for theAmerican workforce, especially in the crit-ical areas of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM).The National Science Foundation (2004)estimates that half of the economic growthin America over the last half-century wasa result of these disciplines (See alsoBabco, 2004). Indeed, it is rare to find a col-lege or university that does not have aformal program in place to increase reten-tion and graduation rates. The list of theseinitiatives is extensive: recruiter presenta-tions, campus visits, orientation sessions,Websites, brochures, Big Sisters and Broth-ers, counseling facilities, mentoring,traditional "realistic job previews" and"Introduction to College" classes, to name

a few. The current study sought to inves-tigate the potential of a new type ofinitiative based on the ideas behind real-istic job previews.

Research indicates that the largest com-ponent of the retention problem involvesnew students leaving before their secondyear (Tinto, 1993). Researchers analyzingthe issue of freshman retention have con-cluded that the departure rate is causedlargely by academic and social stressorsencountered by students as they attemptto adapt to the college environment. (See:Tinto, 1993, for a detailed discussion.)These findings support the contention thatenhancing student focus and reducing thenegative effects of academic and socialstressors on first-year college studentswould increase university retention rates.

Stress can be defined as the negativeemotional/physical state that results frombeing exposed to a threat, (e.g., the inabil-ity to avoid a penalty or punisher or obtaina reward) (Palmer, 2003). As defined by the

888

In Their Own Words... / 889

National Institute of Occupational Safetyand Health,job stress is "the harmful phys-ical and emotional responses that occurwhen the requirements of the job do notmatch the capabilities, resources, needs ofthe workers" (as cited in Palmer, 2003, p.134). Thus, stressors can be thought of asthe conditions, contexts, or incidents thatcause the stress response. Any organiza-tion, including academic institutions, willcontain its share of stressors. Students,whose "job" it is to complete universitycourses, are certainly subject to becomingvictims of job stress.

Students may also experience antici-patory stress (Gold & Friedman, 2000);that is, stress prompted by concerns aboutthe future stressors and fear of the unknownthat these young adults may encounter asthey enter the college environment. Thequestion is whether some additional expe-riences and opportunities for knowledgegain before or during their initial semes-ter at school could be made available thatmight serve to inoculate students and mit-igate such concerns to the point wherestudent retention is increased. Whetherthey are experiencing current stress oranticipatory stress, student decisions aboutwhether to remain in college can be affect-ed by their level of stress copingadaptability. The underlying theme of theCurTent study is that exposing them to anarray of stress coping strategies other stu-dents have used successfully may help newstudents confront these challenges andremain in college.

Stress coping refers to the ability toapply strategies that minimize and man-age the stress response (Lazarus &

Folkman, 1984). To be productive, an indi-vidual must have skills that enable him orher to cope effectively with stressors (Kohn& O'Brian, 1997). Researchers have iden-tified two general categories of stresscoping strategies: problem-focused andemotion-focused coping (Carver, 1989;Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). As an outcomeof their research on stress coping, Folk-man and Lazarus (1980) expanded thesecategories into eight coping mechanismsthat seem to have withstood the test of timein the research literature, Problem-focusedstrategies include: confrontive and plan-ful problem solving (i.e., reducing thestressor); emotion-focused strategiesinclude: distancing, self-controlling,accepting responsibility, positive reap-praisal, and escape-avoidance (i.e.,managing/reducing the stress response,itself) (Bettina, 2001). In addition, seekingsocial support was found to be a mixtureof the two types. (See Appendix A fordescriptions of these eight strategies.)

No one stress coping mechanism iseffective in every situation, and individu-als may use a variety of different copingmechanisms to combat different stressorsin a variety of settings (Bettina, 2001). Ald-win, Sutton, and Lachman (1996) studiedwhether stressful episodes provide contentfor the development of coping resourcesand found that 81.9% of men reported solv-ing recent problems by using prior copingstrategies gained through encounteringproblems in their lives, work, and family.This finding suggests that choosing a suc-cessful coping strategy is a trial and errorprocess honed through personal (and per-haps vicarious) experiences.

890 / College Student Journal

Much of the college student retentionproblem comes from student abuse of theescape-avoidance strategy to deal withstressors. This typically occurs when stu-dents who are faced with a stressfulsituation, such as studying for an exam orwriting a paper, choose to avoid the stress-ful situation and instead participate in lessstressful activities (e.g., go out withfriends). By supplying students with accessto a variety of successful strategies, thosewho would otherwise rely on escape andavoidance may choose to use an alterna-tive strategy that will help them cope oradapt to the stress, resulting in their increas-ing "time-on-task" and remaining inschool. Factors such as gender and age canalso affect an individual's use of copingstrategies. Bettina (2001) conductedresearch on stress coping strategies used byadolescents and found that boys use moreproblem-oriented and direct actionapproaches to stress, whereas girls use pas-sive and support-seeking strategies.

Whether or not they are construed assuch, the focus of the interventions used inhigher education to help students becomeacclimated to college are essentially stress-and anticipatory stress-reduction efforts.It has long been known that the perceivedcredibility of the communicator plays amajor role in the believability andacceptance of the information being com-municated. In the college context, it is onething for the student to hear "what it isgoing to be like" from a parent, guidancecounselor, recruiter, teacher, or Website.It is quite another to hear it from an agepeer who has "just gone through it". Thepractice of using (highly selected) college

students in recruiting and in freshman ori-entation events bears evidence to thisbelief. Of course, new students generallyhave limited access to these young ambas-sadors, and they would not necessarilyexpect them to provide true "realistic jobpreviews," which include the negative aswell as the positive aspects of college life,both academic and social.

Realistic job previews (RJPs) can bedefined as programs, materials, and/or pre-sentations that provide individuals withrealistic and balanced (positive and nega-tive) information about a job (Barber,1998). The goal of an RJP is to presentindividuals with a balanced and accurateview of a position without emphasizing ordeemphasizing any part(s) of the job.Through RJPs, individuals get a glimpseinto what their future job would be if theycontinue with the selection process andbecome a part of the organization. Overthe last two decades several reviews of theRJP literature have reported evidence thatRJPs are related to lower turnover(McEvoy & Cascio, 1985; Phillips, 1998;Premack & Wanous, 1985). Because RJPsinfluence a number of indicators of orga-nizational adjustment such as role clarityand met expectations, RJPs may play arole in an individual's ability to adjust tonew situations. Although RJPs are typi-cally used to recruit applicants in businesssettings, the goals and outcomes associat-ed with RJPs could be equally beneficialto students entering college.

The purpose of the current study was totake advantage of the continuous and wideaccessibility of the Web to create a "RJPresource" for new students to become

In Their Own Words... /891

acquainted with some of the stressors ofcollege life and the strategies other stu-dents have used to deal with them. Thegoal was to collect short stress-copingvignettes from students in which theydescribe some challenge they met whilein school and what techniques they usedto overcome it. These audio taped storieswere recorded in the students' own words,were then edited and organized into cate-gories and made available on a Website tobe accessed by students about to enter orwho have recently entered college for thefirst time. The project objective was to cre-ate a prototype for evaluation, a subsequentiteration of which might be useful forreducing attrition (especially during thefirst year) by lowering the trepidation first-time students might have with regard toovercoming stressors and increasing theirself-efficacy for dealing effectively withthem.

The Website designed for the currentstudy was developed to provide a highdegree of learner-control and self-pacing.Self-pacing allows the learner to decidewhen to enter and leave the program andhow quickly to progress through the mate-rial (DeRouin et al., 2005). Learners canenter and leave the website at their dis-cretion, choose their learning pace, andselect the content and its sequence. Learn-er control has been shown to have apositive effect on learner outcomes(Kraiger & Jerden, 2007).

Although the ultimate goal of such atraining intervention was an increase instudent retention, the specific objective ofthe current study was to determine thedegree to which the Web-based program

would meet with positive reactions froma university student sample, as well as thedegree to which they gained knowledgefrom it. Specifically, survey data wereobtained on the degree to which the stu-dents reported positive reactions on theusability, likeability, and perceived use-fulness of the Website to help new studentsovercome various academic and socialchallenges and stressors with which theymay be confronted. We, therefore, hypoth-esized that usability, likeability, andperceived usefulness of the Website willreceive positive ratings on a survey com-pleted by students who viewed theprototype Website.

Method

ParticipantsThe 36 students who provided the audio

anecdotes regarding their personal expe-riences with overcoming stressors atcollege were undergraduate volunteersenrolled in introductory psychology class-es. The one requirement for participationwas that they must have accumulated atleast 30 semester hours of college credit.The 182 students who viewed the Websiteand provided feedback on their reactionsto it were also enrolled in introductory psy-chology classes. With respect to thesestudent reviewers, there were no restric-tions on who could participate. The averageage of the participants was 20.4 years (SD= 5.9).

InstrumentationA 15-item usability and satisfaction sur-

vey was placed on the Website to gather


participant reactions with respect to itsusability, likeability, and usefulness forhelping first-time students to adjust to col-lege life. Likeability items were rated usinga 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1, mostliked rating, to 5, most disliked rating.Usability and Usefulness items were ratedusing a 5-point Likert scale ranging from1, most strongly agree, to 5, most strong-ly disagree. Anchors were provided foranswer options across all scales. Each sub-category of the survey (Likeability,Usability, and Usefulness) contained fivequestions. The overall survey had a relia-bility Alpha of .88. (See Appendix B for acopy of the survey.)

ProceduresStory collection. Trained project

researchers conducted all of the audio-taped interviews in a one-on-one format,each session lasting between 20 and 60minutes. The participants were asked toprovide examples of times in their collegeexperience when they had to meet specif-ic challenges and how they coped with oradapted to each of those situations. At notime did the interviewers ever use thewords "stress" or "stressors". Intervieweeswere asked to provide these examples forany aspects of university life that they hadexperienced thus far, academic as well associal. Each interview continued until theparticipant was unable to provide any newanecdotes.

Researchers edited the audiotapes byparsing each interview into its variousvignettes, and removing pauses, personal-ly identifying comments, interviewercomments, and any unnecessary or irrele-

vant content, such as excessive "ums." Thiseffort resulted in 95 usable vignettesextracted from the 36 student interviews.

Website development. The design of theWebsite followed e-learning guidelinesand principles supported by research intoeffective e-learning and Web-based instruc-tion (WBI) practices as set forth by Clarkand Mayer (2003), as well as the principlesof Universal Design that insures productsand environments (including e-learningand WBI) are usable for all people (Cen-ter for Universal Design, 2001.). Studentsaccessed the website through the Internet,and all survey data were collected andstored using an online survey service (Sur-veyMonkey.com).

The website is compatible with Inter-net Explorer, Firefox, and Safari Webbrowsers. The website used Flash menusand slideshows to facilitate fast and effec-tive transitions between pages.

After an initial introduction page, thenext page presented text to explain thenature of the website and navigation links.The subsequent pages containing the audiovignettes, presented text instructions onhow to listen to the vignettes, the vignettes,themselves, and dissolving pictures of col-lege life that were, to the extent possiblein the prototype, related to the vignettecontent. Navigation links were presentedon each page to allow users access to var-ious categories of challenges.

A content analysis was used to dividethe stories into 12 categories of "chal-lenges". After selecting a challenge, stresscoping vignettes related to that challengewere displayed using a drop-down navi-gation menu. Each challenge contained a


Tables ISummary of Item Responses A cross Subscales

0/ ltemr rP.,nnnqP.

Like very Likedmuch somewhat

42.7

Stronglyagree

47.3

Stronglyagree

43.4

37.2

Agree

38.3

Agree

41.9

Disliked DislikedNeutral Somewhat very much

17 14.2 0.03

StronglyNeutral Disagree disagree

12.5 12 0.4

StronglyNeutral Disagree disagree

11.5 2.5 0.4

number of vignettes (i.e., from 2 to 15).Selecting a vignette takes the user to a pagewith lean text to describe the challenge andthe coping strategy employed. The usermay then click on a "play" button to lis-ten to the vignette. Other buttons allow theuser to stop the vignette, replay it, returnto the list of vignettes within that particu-lar challenge category, or learn more aboutthe type of coping strategy associated withthe vignette. A constantly present naviga-tion bar allowed the user to return to thehome page or challenge categories page.(See Appendix C for a screen shot of a typ-ical vignette page.)

Measurement of student reaction. Toassess student reaction to the website, the.182 volunteers reviewed the site (whichrequired them to listen to at least 20vignettes). They then completed the online15-item questionnaire to register their reac-tion to the site.

ResultsOur hypothesis was that the "Usabili-

ty, likeability, and perceived usefulness ofthe Website will receive positive ratingson a survey completed by students whoviewed the prototype Website." Thishypothesis was addressed by reviewingand summarizing participant responses tothe usability and satisfaction survey. Over-all, participant ratings of the Website werefavorable across all items. On average,83% of respondents provided positive feed-back across all items, likeability 79.11%,usability 84.6%, and usefulness 85.3%.Positive and negative feedback was cal-culated by condensing positive responses,i.e., "Liked very much" and "Agree," andnegative responses, i.e., "Strongly dis-agree" and "Somewhat not useful," foreach item. The least favorable item, "Howdid you like the photos of the university andstudents?" was negatively rated by only19 participants (10.4%). Table I contains

Sijh-renle

Likeability

Usability

Usefulness

Sub-ca...... . .. . .1. . .


Table 2Summary of Student Comments Regarding the Website

Type of Comment CategoriesComments

Number ofComments

Positive Usefulness and utility to future students 21Usefulness and utility to current students 17Relevance of information to students 13Supported use of peer sources 5Ease of use and usability of Website 4Generic positive comments 8

Negative Use of repetitive photos that did not reflect content 7Poor speaking ability or articulation of some sources 5Critical of using peer sources 2Website design 1Generic negative comments I

the average response rates for each sub-scale. Our hypothesis was confirmed;participant responses indicated positivefeedback across the likeability, usability,and usefulness questions.

Participants were asked to write narra-tive comments at the end of the survey. Atotal of 88 comments were provided with68 (77.3%) positive and 15 (17%) negative.The remaining comments either containedboth positive and negative elements or didnot directly relate to the website. A contentanalysis conducted on the comments iden-tified 10 categories (6 positive and 5negative). Table 2 contains the commentcategories and their associated number ofresponses.

DiscussionThe overall findings of this study bear

evidence to the potential value of the Web-based venue for providing peer-generatedand delivered stress-coping strategies tohelp young college students survive theiracademic experience. Overall, student par-ticipants responded positively towards the

site. Their positive feedback consisted ofeither liking a component of the website,agreeing on an aspect of the Website'susability, or indicating that they thoughtinformation presented in the Website wouldbe useful to university students. The resultsfrom our hypothesis reflect previousresearch findings that e-learning applica-tions typically receive positive reactionsfrom users. Previous literature mentionedearlier (DeRouin et al., 2005) shows thatthese positive reactions are prevalent withe-learning applications that take place inorganizations. Within this study, all sur-vey items were rated positively by at least80% of the respondents. Although this find-ing does not in itself indicate that theWebsite would be effective in increasingstudent retention, it does provide evidencethat supports previous literature.

The results of this study were evaluat-ed using the first of Kirkpatrick's fourlevels of training effectiveness. Kirk-patrick's (1994) four levels of trainingeffectiveness include reactions, learning,behavior, and results. Reactions, the first


stage of Kirkpatrick's evaluation, relates tolearner's attitudes, satisfaction, and pref-erences for the training program overothers (DeRouin et al., 2005). Kirkpatrick's(1994) second level of training evaluation,knowledge gain, consists of identifyingwhether or not the participants learned anyof the content material presented in thetraining program. This second level of thetraining evaluation framework, accordingto DeRouin et al., has been well docu-mented in the e-learning literature (2005).These researchers examined previous lit-erature and found mixed results whene-learning and traditional classroom train-ing programs were compared. The reactionlevel results combined with the positivefeedback received from students provideevidence that the site is related to the stress-ful situations met university by studentsand could be effective in increasing reten-tion. Future research should focus onKirkpatrick's third level of evaluation,behavior change, which, in the academicsetting, would translate into increases infreshmen retention.

Student generated comments corre-spond with the reactions one would expectfrom an initiative based on an RJPapproach like the one used in the currentstudy (Breaugh & Starke, 2000). As indi-viduals receive realistic information abouta new situation their expectations of thesituation become more realistic and resultin fewer discrepancies between expecta-tions and actual experiences when theyencounter the new situation. This effecthas been observed in much of the RJP lit-erature (e.g., Homer, Mobley, & Meglino,1979; Phillips, 1998; Premack & Wanous;1985; Wanous, 1973). The positive student

comments referring to the usefulness andutility of the "In Their Won Words"approach provide support for the potentialof this approach to aid students in devel-oping realistic expectations of college life.

Conclusions

The hypothesis tested in this study wasbased on the assumption that the strategiesset forth in this website were given by stu-dents who had been successful incompleting at least 30 hours of collegecredit. Dissemination of the stress copingstrategies contained in the stories provid-ed by these students will hopefully increasestudent retention. Current research find-ings in effective web-based instruction andstress coping strategies were incorporatedinto the development of this website pro-totype to create a vehicle that wouldprovide an effective medium for transfer-ring stress-coping and adaptabilityknowledge to users. This prototype wastested at Kirkpatrick's 1st level of trainingeffectiveness, Reactions, and received pos-itive feedback from university students.The next step in this line of research shouldbe to test the Website at Kirkpatrick's sec-ond and third levels of trainingeffectiveness among university students-will they learn useful strategies for copingand will they stay in school?

ReferencesAldwin, C.M., Sutton, K.J., & Lachman, M.

(1996). The development of coping resourcesin adulthood. Journal of Personality, 64(6),837-871.

Babco, E. (2004). Skills for the Innovation Econ-omy: What the 21st Century Workforce Needsand How to Provide it. Washington DC: Com-mission on Professionals in Science andTechnology


Barber, A. E. (1998). Recruiting employees: Indi-vidual and organizational perspectives.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Bettina, P. (2001). Gender differences and simi-larities in adolescents' ways of coping. ThePsychological Record, 51(2), 222-235.

Breaugh, J. A., & Starke, M. (2000). Research onemployee recruitment: So many studies, somany remaining questions. Journal of Man-agement, 26(3), 405-434.

Carver, C.S., Scheier, M.F., & Weintraub, J.K.(1989). Assessing coping strategies: a theoret-ically based approach. Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 56(2), 267-283.

Center for Universal Design. (2001). What isUniversal Design? The principles. RetrievedDecember 12, 2005 from The Centerfor Universal Design web site:http://www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud/univ_design/princ_overview.htm.

Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2003). E-Learningand the science of instruction, San Francisco:Wiley.

DeRouin, R.E., Fritzsche, B.A., & Salas, E.(2005). E-Learning in Organizations. Journalof Management, 31(6), 1-21.

Finley, R. (2009). SurveyMonkey.com. Portland,Oregon, USA.

Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R.S. (1980). An analysisof coping in a middle-aged community sam-ple. Journal of Health and Social Behavior,21(3), 219-239.

Gold, M.A., & Friedman, S.B. (2000). Cadet basictraining: an ethnographic study of stress andcoping. Military Medicine, 165(2), 147-152.

Horn, L. (2006). Placing College GraduationRates in Context: How 4-Year College Gradu-ation Rates Vary With Selectivity andthe Size of Low-Income Enrollment.Retrieved September 2, 2008, fromhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007161.

Homer, S. 0., Mobley, W. H., & Meglino, B. M.(1979). An experimental evaluation of theeffects of a realistic job preview on Marinerecruit affect, intentions and behavior. Unpub-lished technical report, University of SouthCarolina, Columbia.

Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1994). Evaluating training pro-grams: the four levels. San Francisco:Berrett-Koehler.

Kohn, P. M., & O'Brian, C. (1997). The situation-al response inventory: A measure of adaptivecoping. Personality and Individual Differ-ences, 22(1), 85-92.

Kraiger, K., & Jerden, E. (2007). A meta-analyticinvestigation of learner control: Old findingsand new directions. In S. M. Fiore & E. Salas(Eds.), Toward a science of distributed learn-ing. Washington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociation.

Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress,appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.

McEvoy, G. M., & Cascio, W. F. (1985). Strate-gies for reducing employee turnover; Ameta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology,70, 342-353.

National Science Foundation. (2005). Scienceand Engineering Indicators: 2004. Retrievedon September 22, 2009 fromhttp://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c1/c1h.htm.

Palmer, S. (2003). Whistle-stop tour of the theoryand practice of stress management and preven-tion: Its possible role in postgraduate healthpromotion. Health Education Journal, 62(2),133-142.

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Appendix AStress Coping Strategies

I. Confrontive coping: aggressively attempting to alter the situation (e.g., starting a fight to detera bully).

2. Distancing: using cognitive efforts to detach oneself and minimize the significance of thesituation (e.g., reframing ones goals to make those that cause stress seem less important).

3. Escape-Avoidance: using wishful thinking and behavioral efforts to escape or avoid theproblem. An example of Escape-Avoidance used by Sailors would be leaving AdvancedSchool because of stress associated with taking tests.

4. Planful Problem Solving: dealing with stress by deliberately trying to alter the situation orsolve the problem (e.g., failing to meet swim test qualifications and working hard to passthe next time).

5. Self-Controlling: the regulation of one's feelings and actions to combat stress (e.g., learning tocontrol anger when in a frustrating situation).

6. Seeking Social Support: the seeking of informational support, tangible support, and emotionalsupport. An example of Seeking Social Support would be an individual making newfriends in Boot Camp.

7. Accepting Responsibility: acknowledging one's own role in the problem and trying to make itright (e.g., failing a test because of not studying and increasing study time to pass it later).

8. Positive Reappraisal: using efforts to create positive meaning and focusing on personal growth(e.g., performing well in classes).

* From Folkman & Lazarus


Appendix BSurvey

Fill out the following survey and click "Submit" to logout.First Name:Last Name:ID Number:Enter your age:.

Please answer the following questions that relate to your experiences with this Website. Whenanswering these questions please select the response that best reflects your opinions and views on thevalue of this Website to students about to enter The University of Memphis.

1. How did you like the following aspects of this website?Audio stories

1 2 3 4 5Liked very much Liked somewhat Neutral Disliked somewhat Disliked very much

Text readability

1 2 3 4 5

Liked very much Liked somewhat Neutral Disliked somewhat Disliked very much

Photos of the university and students

1 1 2 3 4 5Liked very much Liked somewhat Neutral Disliked somewhat Disliked very much

Listening to the stories, categorized by challenge1 2 3 4 5


Strategies for overcoming challenges1 1 2 3 4 5


2. 1 was able to navigate easily through the Website.1 2 3 4 5

Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

3. t liked being able to review the content of the Website at my own pace.1 1 2 3 4 5



4. The written descriptions of the stories helped me learn from the audio stories.1 2 3 4 5


5. Hearing the student's voices helped me to learn about their strategies.I 2 1 3 L 4 5


6. If I were a new student about to attend The University of Memphis, I would find this website useful.1 2 3 4 5


7. I believed this website would help prepare individuals about to enter college life.1 2 3 4 5


8. 1 listened to several audio stories1 2 3 4 5


9. The audio stories helped me to learn about strategies I can use to overcome challenges as a universitystudent.

1 2 3 4 5Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

10. This Website was able to hold my attention.1 2 3 4 5


11. I would recommend this Website to other students wanting to learn about strategies for coping withcollege life.

1 2 3 4 5Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree


Appendix CSample Screenshots

Challenge Page

University Challenges:

Challenges and Student Strategies

Attending the UniNersity of Memphis can hie a oallenging and fife changing experience for most young people. I N a lace hamyou Occumir the education that will prepare you for your profesdonal career. The falls,iing links lead to stresis noting storliss from

students Who tell In their own words how they dealt with the Unninersch -V-n-n

The fol owing Is 9 list of Challenges students face while at the iiniversity. Once you select the challen ge you would like to know more

.olamt, oecn. will ii,pine, that i loinks to the .,Ihg A.H..

Time rarnacesent Finances

Social aduirtimerrUn Grades

•trunteaint aenesw

thmilp_ancLakohOl Feaofalh

Not wVitnnt to Pttend aesse$New to Milmphis Findfro time to 9tu&v

Unve rtyChle nge:rn bhnaI dTimetimanagement

Gettinn a eoad schceuloKeeping your ccacc u

LJvlmo conditions

Sto!y Vignette Pa FeUniversity Challenge:

Time management

Challenge: Balancing Work and School

. a.- yonehrder to find a balance between work and

school once you enter college.

Strategy: Finding what works for you

Hoving to scidanco toh work aend schol LA often wrytdiffitit for 0 student. he desnle to further ones eddurtlan

requires that the student work to pay for the education. Thestrategy to oevsoorns such a crdaleon lAe to remember to takecre of onesel and take each thing one sep at a time.

G.h ta "rimdn . em.....

IMI 1310

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In their own words: an online strategy for increasing stresscoping skillsamong college freshmen

Coll Stud J 44 no4 D 2010 p. 888-900

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