Script 1: Zoe

We first set out to better understand where BGR was failing and succeeding. During the course
of our research, we interviewed six former BGR participants and one team leader. We also
reviewed 17 posts from the Purdue University Reddit page. Our research indicated several
mixed experiences with BGR. But generally, those who made successful group connections had
a more positive BGR experience than students unable to connect to their group mates. In
particular, the goals of BGR emphasize preparing students for success and helping students
form enriching academic connections with peers and upperclassmen.

Script 2: Trevor

We had two initial ideas to aid students in forming better connections. The first was to utilize the
lanyards all students are given in BGR. We could have the lanyards include large ID tags as
well as additional information about the student, such as hobbies, major, and other related
topics. Then the second idea we had was to change how BGR groups are organized.
We ultimately moved towards the ladder idea, because we were concerned that the lanyards
may actually disincentivize interaction and communication between students. At this point, we
considered several attributes to determine groups, such as hobbies, dorms, and majors. We
decided to organize the groups by major, as this would offer more opportunities for students to
form academic relationships.
From here, we conducted concept testing with former BGR participants to get feedback on the
effectiveness of our solution and ideas on how to finalize the structure of this grouping system.
There were concerns that these alterations may limit diversity within groups, but our concept
testing volunteers indicated that the several academic and networking capabilities of our
solution outweigh these concerns, especially considering how much diversity is present within
all majors anyway.

VIDEO
Script 3: Jack or Nock (Noah or Jack)

We identified three goals that Purdue University claims to provide to its students during BGR.
These include “provide strategies for academic success” “grow connections with new and
upperclassmen students” and “gain knowledge of navigating campus.” Grouping students by
major not only helps the main problem with bgr, connecting students, but grouping students by
major also helps Purdue achieve its other goals for its students. Students often complained that
they did not have anything in common with their group members. With them being in the same
major they will have mutual interests and similarities, which has been shown to encourage
friendship and connection. By the time BGR is done they will have connections with people in
their classes and major, so the connections they make will be worthwhile. Students will see their
group members again in classes where they can form study groups, help each other in class,
and motivate each other academically. With students being in a similar major, they can tour
buildings where they will have classes. This opens a new opportunity for getting students
comfortable navigating campus.

Groups would now be organized into three parts with our final solution: Students - grouped by
major to encourage connections while arriving on campus. Team leader - Upperclassman in
major who can show students where classes are and introduce them to what they will be
learning when they are at Purdue. Supervisor - School upperclassman who oversees the groups
for majors in school. Groups will combine to complete group activities, which will not be
hindered by what school the group is in. Exploratory students will be given a survey before
attending BGR asking them what majors they are interested most in. This will scramble the
exploratory students into other major groups so these exploratory students can learn about at
least one major they are interested in during BGR. This will also work to keep students out of
the bubble in their majors. There is no guaranteed way to build friendships or connections.
Some people are more outgoing and extroverted than others, which will lead to more
connections. We are just trying to help students' experiences with groups by changing the
formation.