A Pre-Arrival Course for New East-West Center Participants

Abstract

The East-West Center (EWC) aims to promote better relations between Asia, the Pacific, and the United States while supporting graduate students pursuing higher education. In 2022, over 400 graduate students attending the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, received long-term financial awards allowing them to live at the EWC. In previous years, the lack of pre-arrival resources available for incoming EWC participants led to frustration and miscommunication. In response to this problem, an asynchronous online Pre-Arrival course was designed to prepare participants for the EWC campus and their transition to Hawai’i. Following the ADDIE model, the instruction aimed to meet the needs of graduate student learners, while Keller’s ARCS model was used to develop an engaging course that increased participant confidence. Usability testing and learning effectiveness testing were conducted to evaluate the instruction. Usability testing (n=4) included synchronous sessions to assess navigation and overall design. Learning effectiveness testing (n=16) required participants to complete a pre-survey before navigating the course asynchronously and concluding with a post-survey. Usability testing provided primarily positive feedback and led to refinements to improve navigation. Learning effectiveness results showed an increase in participants’ confidence in identifying the campus layout and next steps. These results indicate the Pre-Arrival course has the potential to solve the problem. Future iterations of the course should include transportation information, guidance on living in Hawai’i, and EWC student profiles.