Forming An Opportunity Belief
Beginning point: I think that student’s often find themselves in a predicament
of always being tired, this is a direct result of Universities overloading
students with coursework. I believe that schools should not allow classes
before 9 o’clock AM to help with having well rested. Not to
mention 70.2% of students currently use their own earnings to pay for their
school without finical help from their families, meaning most students are also
working to help pay for their tuition also taking away sleep time.
Describe your beliefs:
Unmet need- College students to have enough energy to get through
school and work.
Who has the need- Any college student who every finds them self too
tired to stay awake for class not allowing them to learn or go to work and
function.
What
are people doing to meet this need now: People are just toughing it out and just
getting it done on minimal sleep trying their best. Which shows why I am 100%
this opportunity exists
Prototypical customer: Any college student that is not just going to school
but also working to pay for their tuition.
Iteration #1
Female 24
My Co-worker Maria was very
concerned with this lingering problem of students not getting enough sleep. She
also goes to University of Florida and works to pay for her own tuition leaving
her not much time to give her body a rest. She has been aware of this problem ever
since her freshmen year in college and her only solution is to deal with barely
staying awake and also sometimes results in skipping class.
Iteration #2
Male 35
TC a Veteran in the Marines
is now dealing with the problems that most college kids have dealt with for
many years now. He said after being in the military he was used to not having
much sleep but the amount of course work given and having to pay for his own
school has put him in a hard spot of finding a job resulting in less personal
time. He is looking for solutions by complaining to the school board and coming
up with new ideas such as classes should not be offered until after 9 AM so
students can have a little more time to rest so they will be sharper throughout
the day.
Iteration #3
Male 19
He experienced the hassle of
having to manage his time into awful hours of the day just to stay afloat in
school while also working as a bus boy to help pay for his school. He also has
to keep a 3.75 GPA to maintain his scholarship which is the only way to afford
the school for him. With this being said it’s sad the university as no sympathy
for students in these situations which is 70.2% of students nationwide.
Reflection: After interviewing 3 different prototypical customers
it only confirmed my believe that college students to have enough time in the
day to sleep and complete their coursework while also working to pay for your
own tuition. Not a single person that I interviewed said they were receiving
enough sleep to be highly functional throughout the day.
Summary: This belief is now even larger after talking with
different students finding out that I’m not the only person who has difficulty with
managing my coursework while also being able to work a part-time job to pay for
tuition but ending up in debt anyways when it’s all said and done. I think this
problem can be fixed by not allowing classes before 9 AM this will allow
student to at least get and extra hour or two of sleep before having to conquer
the day.
Austin,
ReplyDeleteI think there is definitely a viable problem that students aren't getting enough sleep. However I don't think this is the best solution. There are too many students at UF and they have to fit all the classes everyday in a certain schedule. If students want to not be tired then they should simply go to bed earlier. It's not like these kids have to wake up every day at 6 AM. Still, I understand your problem but there are other ways to manage this.
Austin,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is a significant issue with students not getting enough sleep. I struggle to maintain a healthy sleep schedule. However, I don't think your solution would be effective at the collegiate level. Universities have to use all the time they can to schedule classes especially with a big school like UF that has over 50,000 students. I think your idea would work better at the K-12 school levels. My middle school changed its start time from 7:30 to 9:10 when I was in 8th grade and it definitely did help with getting better sleep at the time.
I believe the college system is correct in allowing classes to start before 9AM. The world does not wait for the human body to be healthy and ready to wake up . It works off of how much money could be made. If we set the narrative that anything before 9AM would be detrimental to the body then we will already be behind before leaving college. I believe being active and productive as soon as you can every day will train your body for any day or any situation in school or the office
ReplyDeleteAustin,
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from and understand how this can be a problem for some. However, I do not think that the school system is the problem. At the end of the day it all comes down to time management. For those that can't take classes before 9, they most likely have the opportunity to take the class online or watch the recorded lectures that the University provides. I can relate to this because I used to deal with the same problem while working a part time job. It all simply came down to how I used my time outside of work and school, especially how I used my weekends. Overall, this is a huge problem that you identified but I believe that it does not root from the school system.