Navigating Freshmen

Every year in late August and September, thousands of freshmen worldwide start a new chapter of their lives as college or university students. This means larger workloads, more tests, increased pressure, and a new life in a new place with new fellow students. When you look at it like that it’s no wonder that 1 in 3 first-year students or more in the US don’t return for sophomore year.

Dropout reasons vary from expensive tuition and problems balancing school and work to freshmen not being academically prepared and students being more stressed than ever. Data from Higher Education Statistics Agency show that 1,180 students who experienced mental ill health left courses early in 2014-15 (most recent numbers available). A 210 percent increase from 380 students in 2009-2010.

It’s not just university students that suffer from stress. Also college freshmen feel overwhelmed and a recent poll (taken by 35,878 students) showed that 45 percent of high school students feel stressed “all the time”.

One of the most common causes of school stress is the transition to a new environment, according to Oxford Learning. While it can be difficult for educational institutions to reduce stress caused by tests, exams, homework, etc., you can actually make the transition a lot easier. With indoor navigation you provide students with an easy overview of the campus. This allows them to plan and prepare in advance, so anxiety about getting lost or late doesn’t add to their spiking stress levels.

We know from our clients that an analysis of three of the biggest universities in Denmark has shown a five time increase in directional inquiries in September where freshmen are struggling to navigate their new environment. This means that employees spend a lot of time giving directions to frustrated students. With digital indoor navigation students have door-to-door navigation on their preferred tool that is already glued to the palm of their hand - their phone.

The figure below shows how the number of calls from our university clients always soars in late August and September when school starts, “but what about the rest of the year then?” That’s a question we’re often asked and we understand why. Students are usually enrolled for 2-5 years and as they get familiar we their surroundings, the need for navigational aid decreases - but it never disappears!  

Educational institutions are often very large and complex places. Buildings are built in different points in time making them hard to navigate and are often spread across a city. That’s why an indoor navigation solution with seamless transition between indoor and outdoor navigation continues to be an appreciated tool by students, employees, and visitors throughout their years at the university, college, high school, etc.