Funded by The Heckscher Foundation for Children, Behavioral Science Meets College-Bound Student Success in Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions
Behavioral science meets college-bound student success in Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions(http://nudge4.ideas42.org), the all-new, hands-on guide and hotline for educators helping students enter and successfully complete college. The open-source guide and free hotline provide solutions to the hidden barriers preventing students from succeeding beyond high school.
Funded by Heckscher Foundation for Children, Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions is a collaboration between the Nudge4 Solutions Lab at the University of Virginia and ideas42, a nonprofit that applies behavioral science to today’s toughest social problems.
Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions addresses three challenge areas—access to college, college life and academics, and student finances— and supports educators with evidence-based behavioral innovations as well as guidance on associated costs and staffing requirements to implement these strategies.
The accompanying free Nudge Hotline provides another layer of support at no cost, allowing practitioners to engage directly with behavioral design experts on how to customize the guide’s innovative tactics for their own student community. Educators can contact the hotline through multiple channels:
Web: http://nudge4.ideas42.org
Phone and text message: 434-233-0165
Email: hotline@nudge4.org
“We wanted to develop a resource that provides educators with concrete, actionable direction on how to effectively implement behavioral approaches to improve students’ postsecondary outcomes,” said Ben Castleman, Founder and Director of Nudge4. “The result is Nudges, Norms, and New Solutions, both an easy-to-access written guide on how to apply these strategies and a free hotline that educators across the country can contact for behavioral design support to implement nudge strategies with their students and in their communities.”
On the surface, behavioral innovations can seem simple and easy to implement—a reminder about a financial aid deadline, a prompt for students to plan which courses to take in the coming semester, or student testimonials about their college experiences. But subtle shifts in the tone, timing, and framing of these messages can make the difference between an approach that helps students achieve their college dreams and one that is ineffective or even backfires...