Student Vignettes
Vignettes are brief scenarios that provide a mechanism for educators to reflect on student experiences without requiring students to retell their stories or relive potentially traumatic events. In the overview document, we explain how professional development activities involving vignettes can be helpful in stimulating dialogue among educators and subsequently informing changes to policy and practice.
In the section below, please find vignettes highlighting a wide range of student experiences. Please note while inspired by real scenarios, names and details have been changed to maintain anonymity.
Vignette topics include –
- Student with a Learning Disability Needs Assistance
- Disconnected Upper-Level Student Wants Advice
- First-Generation College Student Balances Family Crises and Coursework
- Upper Division Student Doubts Major Choice After Struggling to Find an Internship
- Student Parent Navigates Child Care & Academic Demands
- Overwhelmed Senior Navigates External Pressures
- Student Struggles to Balance Family and College Expectations
- Student Nears Graduation Without Clear Career Path
- Student with a Short-Term Disability Warrants Support
- Second-Year Student Has Not Fully Connected with Campus and Career Resources
- Student Balancing Family and Community Priorities Seeks Guidance
- Working Student Taking Mostly Online Classes Requires Advice
- Student Feels Uncomfortable Accessing Counseling Services
- Average Student Makes Mistake that Could Impact Career
- Adjusting Student Schedule Around Military Assignments
- Burnt-Out Student Who Has Taken on Too Many Responsibilities
- First-Year Student With Physical Barriers Preventing Them from Attending
- High-Performing Student Struggling to Adjust to College Life
- Incoming Student Struggling to Receive Necessary Disability Accommodations
- Passionate Student Facing Challenge of Balancing Work, School, and Financial Burdens
- Student Looking to Switch Majors and Maintain Financial Aid Package
- Student Seeking Career Advice — Earning a Living Wage in an Underpaid Profession
- Student Facing Unexpected Pregnancy
- Supporting a Student Experiencing the Loss of a Program or Department in Their Major
- Supporting a Student Struggling with Food Choices in the Dining Hall
- Unpacking Academic Preparation Gaps and Performance Concerns for Students
Click Here to View Vignettes
Disconnected Upper-Level Student Wants Advice
This vignette highlights the challenges of students in upper-level coursework who feel disconnected.
Student with a Learning Disability Needs Assistance
This vignette highlights the challenges facing students with undiagnosed learning disabilities and
provides considerations for getting them assistance.
First-Generation College Student Balances Family Crises and Coursework
This vignette highlights how a student who has experienced academic success may need additional support when an unexpected personal, financial or familial crisis emerges.
Upper Division Student Doubts Major Choice After Struggling to Find an Internship
This vignette highlights the stress that students may experience if they struggle to secure an internship or other professional preparation opportunities that may help them secure employment.
Student Parent Navigates Child Care & Academic Demands
This vignette highlights the challenges for individuals who are trying to meet the demands of parenting while being a college student.
Overwhelmed Senior Navigates External Pressures
This vignette highlights how institutions focus resources on first- and second-year students, often leaving fourth-year students to figure out how to navigate important decisions on their own.
Student Struggles to Balance Family and College Expectations
This vignette highlights the experiences of a student who is attempting to balance family priorities with college expectations.
Student Nears Graduation Without Clear Career Path
This vignette highlights the challenges of a student nearing graduation without a clear direction for securing a job and beginning a career.
Student with a Short-Term Disability Warrants Support
This vignette highlights the challenges facing students with short-term disabilities in getting the support and accommodations they need.
Second-Year Student Has Not Fully Connected with Campus and Career Resources
This vignette highlights the experiences of a student who seems to be doing fine but is not necessarily connecting with the opportunities that exist on campus.
Student Balancing Family and Community Priorities Seeks Guidance
This vignette highlights the experiences of a student who is attempting to balance family and community priorities with college expectations.
Working Student Taking Mostly Online Classes Requires Advice
This vignette highlights how a student who works full time attempts to manage their course load while taking mostly online classes.
Student Feels Uncomfortable Accessing Counseling Services
This vignette explores how a student may benefit from counseling services, but has a difficult time accessing support because individuals in their network have negative perceptions of attending counseling.
Average Student Makes Mistake that Could Impact Career
This vignette provides the opportunity to consider how to support a student who may have been flying under the radar because they are neither high achieving or experiencing academic challenges, but then has a situation later in their academic career that warrants support.
Adjusting Student Schedule Around Military Assignments
This student vignette highlights how a student may need to work with advisors and counselors to adjust their schedules according to personal or familial military involvement.
Burnt-Out Student Who Has Taken on Too Many Responsibilities
This student vignette highlights the various responsibilities that students may hold both on and off campus, and how that may impact their ability to succeed in the classroom.
First-Year Student With Physical Barriers Preventing Them from Attending
This student vignette highlights how physical barriers can lead to various academic problems that may be unrecognized by advisors without deeper investigation.
High-Performing Student Struggling to Adjust to College Life
This vignette highlights challenges that students may face in navigating and adjusting to an unfamiliar college environment, and provides insight into how to guide students towards resilience and success.
Incoming Student Struggling to Receive Necessary Disability Accommodations
This vignette highlights challenges that students may face in receiving accommodations under unusual circumstances, and provides insight into how instructors may provide assistance to their students.
Passionate Student Facing Challenge of Balancing Work, School, and Financial Burdens
This student vignette highlights the difficulty that students may face in balancing full-time work and school schedules. It emphasizes the financial demands students may face to pay for their schooling and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Student Looking to Switch Majors and Maintain Financial Aid Package
This vignette highlights the questions that may arise for students concerned about losing financial aid, as they attempt to choose or change their major.
Student Seeking Career Advice — Earning a Living Wage in an Underpaid Profession
This vignette highlights the struggle that students may face in finding a career that balances what they love to do with a livable wage.
Student Facing Unexpected Pregnancy
This student vignette provides insight into how an unexpected pregnancy may alter the way a student is able to navigate through their undergraduate or graduate career.
Supporting a Student Experiencing the Loss of a Program or Department in Their Major
This student vignette highlights how university policy changes and budget cuts may impact student decisions regarding major or career choice.
Supporting a Student Struggling with Food Choices in the Dining Hall
This student vignette highlights a student looking for support in navigating dining options that would not put her health at risk.
Unpacking Academic Preparation Gaps and Performance Concerns for Students
This student vignette illustrates how students may struggle because of academic preparation gaps prior to attending college, highlighting the importance of acknowledging these gaps and providing proactive interventions.