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Field
Last Published
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Before
July 22, 2026 07:48 AM
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After
August 03, 2026 11:01 AM
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Intervention (Public)
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Before
The intervention is a personalized student support program delivered throughout one academic semester to undergraduate students enrolled in Arizona State University's University College courses.
Following completion of a baseline survey, participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control within strata defined by LEAD status (LEAD vs. non-LEAD) and baseline primary concern category: (1) study habits and exam preparation, (2) time and workload management, (3) financial management and budgeting, or (4) building social connections and belonging. Randomization occurs immediately after the baseline survey and participants are not informed of their assignment. The treatment condition receives personalized behavioral support tailored to the student’s highest-ranked concern, including individualized email feedback, short microlearning videos, weekly SMS prompts, and a printed journal with weekly activities. The control condition receives a neutral thank-you message and a blank journal without personalized content of their assignment.
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After
The intervention is a personalized student support program delivered throughout one academic semester to undergraduate students enrolled in Arizona State University's University College courses.
Following completion of the baseline survey, course sections are randomly assigned to the treatment or control condition. Randomization is conducted within instructor, such that each instructor's sections are randomized separately to ensure balance across treatment conditions and to account for instructor-specific teaching practices. Students remain in the condition assigned to their course section. Participants are not informed of their assignment. Students enrolled in multiple eligible sections will be assigned to one pre-specified index section prior to randomization; the study will not allow multiple trial assignments for the same student.
Students in treatment sections receive personalized behavioral support tailored to their highest-ranked concern identified on the baseline survey, including individualized email feedback, short microlearning videos, weekly SMS prompts, and a printed journal with weekly activities. Students in control sections receive a neutral thank-you message and a blank journal without personalized content.
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Experimental Design (Public)
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Before
This study is a two-arm, individually randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of a personalized student support intervention among undergraduate students enrolled in Arizona State University University College courses. During the third week of the semester, eligible students complete a baseline survey and provide informed consent. Following survey completion, participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either a treatment or control condition. Randomization is stratified by LEAD status (LEAD vs. non-LEAD) and participants' highest-ranked area of concern at baseline: (1) study habits and preparing for exams, (2) time and workload management, (3) financial management and budgeting, or (4) building connections and friendships. Participants assigned to the treatment group receive personalized communications and behavioral support throughout the semester, while control participants receive standard study communications without personalized intervention content. Follow-up outcomes are collected through an end-of-semester survey and linked administrative academic records. The primary unit of analysis is the individual student.
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After
This study is a two-arm, cluster-randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of a personalized student support intervention among undergraduate students enrolled in Arizona State University University College courses. During the third week of the semester, eligible students complete a baseline survey and provide informed consent. Following completion of the baseline survey, course sections are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the treatment or control condition. Randomization is stratified by instructor, with each instructor's eligible course sections randomized separately to ensure balance across treatment conditions. Students enrolled in multiple eligible sections are assigned to a single pre-specified index section based on the earliest scheduled class meeting during the week, and treatment assignment is determined by that section.
Participants assigned to treatment sections receive personalized communications and behavioral support throughout the semester. Although treatment is assigned at the section level, intervention content is personalized according to each student's highest-ranked area of concern identified at baseline: (1) study habits and preparing for exams, (2) time and workload management, (3) financial management and budgeting, or (4) building connections and friendships. Participants assigned to control sections receive standard study communications without personalized intervention content. Follow-up outcomes are collected through an end-of-semester survey and linked administrative academic records. The unit of randomization is the course section, while the primary unit of analysis is the individual student, with analyses accounting for clustering of students within sections.
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Randomization Unit
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Before
Student level
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After
section level
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Was the treatment clustered?
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Before
No
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After
Yes
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Planned Number of Clusters
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Before
1,000 students
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After
65 students
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Intervention (Hidden)
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Before
Participants completed a baseline survey during the third week of the semester that identified their highest-priority area of concern from four domains: (1) study habits and preparing for exams, (2) time and workload management, (3) financial management and budgeting, and (4) building connections and friendships. Following the baseline survey, participants were individually randomized within strata defined by LEAD status (LEAD vs. non-LEAD) and primary concern category to either a treatment or control condition.
Students assigned to the treatment condition received a 5-week personalized support intervention beginning approximately in Week 4 of the semester. The intervention was designed to provide scalable, proactive, strengths-based support through multiple communication channels and consisted of:
- A personalized email that acknowledged the student's primary area of concern, normalized common student challenges, recommended evidence-based strategies, linked to short microlearning videos, and directed students to relevant campus resources.
- Weekly SMS messages containing brief reflections, implementation prompts, and behavioral tasks aligned with the student's primary concern. Tasks encouraged students to practice evidence-based behaviors such as retrieval practice, time planning, financial planning, or social engagement.
- A printed student journal containing weekly reflection exercises, behavioral activities, and self-directed learning tasks organized around the four concern domains. Students were encouraged to complete activities throughout the semester and report completion through QR codes embedded within the journal.
- Weekly reminder emails encouraging students to continue engaging with intervention materials and report completed activities.
The intervention content was personalized only by the participant's highest-ranked concern identified at baseline; all students within a concern category received the same sequence of intervention materials. Intervention content emphasized low-cost, evidence-based behavioral strategies, normalization of common college challenges, reflection, goal setting, and increased awareness and utilization of existing university support services rather than individualized coaching.
Participants assigned to the control condition received a thank-you email acknowledging their participation and a blank lined journal without personalized content, behavioral activities, or ongoing intervention messages.
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After
Participants completed a baseline survey during the third week of the semester that identified their highest-priority area of concern from four domains: (1) study habits and preparing for exams, (2) time and workload management, (3) financial management and budgeting, and (4) building connections and friendships.
Following the baseline survey, course sections were randomly assigned to either the treatment or control condition. Randomization was conducted within instructor, such that each instructor's eligible sections were randomized separately with approximately equal numbers assigned to each condition. Students enrolled in multiple eligible sections were assigned to a single index section using a pre-specified rule based on the earliest scheduled class meeting during the week. Treatment assignment and study exposure were determined by the student's index section.
Students assigned to treatment sections received a 5-week personalized support intervention beginning approximately in Week 4 of the semester. Although treatment assignment occurred at the section level, intervention content was personalized according to each student's highest-priority concern identified in the baseline survey. The intervention was designed to provide scalable, proactive, strengths-based support through multiple communication channels and consisted of:
A personalized email acknowledging the student's primary area of concern, normalizing common student challenges, recommending evidence-based strategies, linking to short microlearning videos, and directing students to relevant campus resources.
Weekly SMS messages containing brief reflections, implementation prompts, and behavioral tasks aligned with the student's primary concern. Tasks encouraged students to practice evidence-based behaviors such as retrieval practice, time planning, financial planning, or social engagement.
A printed student journal containing weekly reflection exercises, behavioral activities, and self-directed learning tasks organized around the four concern domains. Journals were distributed during the student's index section, and students were encouraged to complete activities throughout the semester and report completion through QR codes embedded within the journal.
Weekly reminder emails encouraging students to continue engaging with intervention materials and report completed activities.
Within each concern category, all students received the same sequence of intervention materials. Intervention content emphasized low-cost, evidence-based behavioral strategies, normalization of common college challenges, reflection, goal setting, and increased awareness and utilization of existing university support services rather than individualized coaching.
Participants assigned to control sections received a thank-you email acknowledging their participation and a blank lined journal without personalized content, behavioral activities, or ongoing intervention messages.
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