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Amar Bahadur Sherma

Dr. Amy Hodges

ENGL 5333 (2nd Revision)

April 08, 2024

(Auto)Ethnography of a Technical Communicator

Introduction:

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is renowned for its global engagement

and commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive campus community, attracting a

substantial international student population from around the world. Through the Office of

International Education (OIE), UTA provides comprehensive support services tailored to the

unique needs of international students, including assistance with visa processes, orientation

programs, and cultural adjustment resources. However, it is still important to figure out how

UTA is working to improve its website to help new students, especially international ones, by

organizing the “apply section” of website information and improving its interface. A user-

friendly interface and simplified application process can make it easier for international

students to access information about UTA's graduate and undergraduate programs,

requirements, and support services. When it comes to applying for an admission, the most

common features of a university website that most international students are likely to have

problems with are lengthy sentences, unfamiliar terminology, payment method, document

categories and submission process, and support services like email, chat, etc. Improving these

features of UTA’s website can motivate more prospective international students to consider

UTA as a viable option for their education, thus expanding the university's global reach and
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diversity. Complex apply procedures result in demotivation and loss of competent and

qualified international students.

Research questions:

The focus of this research is to investigate the usability experience of international

students when they browse the website of the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).

Unlike local American students, international applicants have to apply through a different

channel and need to produce different documents. The primary question guiding this study is:

Do undergraduate and graduate international students understand the language of the “Apply”

section of the website? Do they easily find their intended information? Is the information on

the “Apply” section well-organized?

The interest in this research question stems from the need to enhance the efficiency

and user-friendliness of UTA’s interface, especially the “Apply” section, thereby potentially

attracting more qualified applicants to UTA. Understanding the pain points of applicants can

inform strategic improvements in the university's communication and administrative

processes.

Methods:

The data for this study were collected through a survey distributed to Nepali students

who had applied to UTA. A total of three Nepali undergraduate and one graduate student

participated in the survey. Among the survey participants, four are current students at UTA

and the remaining one is an aspiring student. I know the respondents personally and we have

known each other since we were enrolled at UTA last fall. The survey included both

structured and open-ended questions about how they learned about UTA, their initial thoughts

on the university, whether they applied to other institutions, and the challenges they

encountered during the application process.

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As the researcher, I designed and distributed the survey to gather relevant information

from Nepali respondents, whose responses could reflect the experience of any other

international students. I am a current international graduate student at UTA. I applied to UTA

for my Ph.D. last year. I myself grappled with some difficulties when I was applying to UTA

like finding the email address, documents to upload, meaning of the official documents, etc. I

As an international graduate student, my role is to check if other fellow Nepali students

confronted the same problems that I did, aiming to understand the nuances of technical and

professional communication within the context of the application process from a point of

view of international students at UTA. This research can help UTA identify the weak areas of

the application process for international students and attract more competent and qualified

students to both graduate and undergraduate programs.

Analysis of Results:

The survey responses provide insights into various aspects of technical and

professional communication at UTA. Concepts such as clarity of information, responsiveness

to inquiries, and the organization of communication channels emerge as significant factors

influencing applicants' experiences.

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Students' thought about applying to UTA

Negative , 40%
Positive
Positive , 60%
Negative

Chart 1: International students’ answer to the question, “What was your initial thought about

applying to UTA?”

5 Nepali international students (three undergrad students and two grad students)

responded to the open-ended question “What was your initial thought about applying to

UTA?” Three of them (60%) had a positive thought about applying to UTA. Student 1

responded “It was easy to apply to UTA.” Student 2 responded, “It was a good university to

apply for an admission.” And student 3 responded “It would be easy to apply with

instructions.” On the contrary, two of them (40%) had a negative thought about the

application process of UTA. Student 4 responded “It was challenging to apply to UTA.” And

student 5 responded “A lot of formalities are required.” These responses clearly demonstrate

that still a large portion of international students still assume that it is a tough job to apply to

UTA even if the data is from a small size survey completed by Nepali students. Such beliefs

can deter prospective international students from applying to UTA. This tendency may have a

negative impact on UTA is mission to diversify the university population. So, U.S.

universities like UTA must improve the user’s usability. There is a need for improving several
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features of UTA’s website such as language of the information, terminology, navigation,

payment process, document submission, technical issues, etc. Such steps can help UTA prove

that applying to UTA like other U.S. universities is challenging is a myth.

In the same way, the respondents were asked an open-ended question: What

challenges did you face when you filled out the application? Five participants responded to

the question.

SN Respondents Comments

1 Undergrad UTA’s website should be a good site.

2 Undergrad UTA’s website is bad.

3 Undergrad UTA’s website is not attractive and there is no regular update.

4 Grad UTA issued I-20 very late.

5 Grad There was not one clear application portal.

Table 1: Respondents’ responses to the challenges they faced while applying to UTA

The feedback provided by both undergraduate and graduate respondents highlights

several key areas for improvement regarding the University of Texas at Arlington's (UTA)

website and administrative processes. Respondent 1 said that she did not find UTA’s website

a good one. She had a hard time navigating the pages of information he was searching for.

For example, she needed a lot of time to navigate the page of scholarships available for

undergraduate students. She added that there was a lack of self-help feature on the website

and somehow she herself had to figure it out. She found it troublesome.

Respondent 4 (a grad student) expressed his concern about the administrative

process. He was issued with his I-20 very late, which caused him to suffer massively. He was

even on the verge of passing up this opportunity. When he submitted his documents, there
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was a kind of confusion between the university and him. As a result, he received his I-20 late

and could not book a visa date and had to travel to India to give his visa interview.

Respondent 5 (a grad student) had a painful experience owing to a lack of a clear

application portal, which can hinder the application process for international students. She

puts it “There is no particular portal, so there are many difficulties to upload documents. It's

very tiring process to upload overall required materials.” She overcame most of the

challenges by the help of program directory and the help desk. Yet, she claims that there are

many issues to be resolved. She did not mention other issues specifically. Nonetheless, if you

consider what she has mentioned there is an urgent need for improvement for UTA’s website

features.

To address these concerns, UTA should prioritize enhancing the website's design and

content, ensuring regular updates and user-friendly navigation. Additionally, administrative

procedures should be streamlined to improve efficiency and timeliness, particularly in areas

like the issuance of essential documents for international students. By implementing these

improvements, UTA can enhance its online presence and administrative processes, ultimately

providing a more positive experience for current and prospective students alike.

Discussion:

Through this study, it becomes evident that enhancing technical and professional

communication practices can significantly impact the application experience at UTA.

Improving the clarity and accessibility of information, streamlining communication channels,

and ensuring prompt responses to inquiries are essential steps towards a more efficient and

user-friendly application process.

This research aligns with the perspectives of scholars in the field of technical and

professional communication who emphasize the importance of clear, concise, and user-
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centered communication. Scholars such as Jones, and Moore argue for the importance of

embracing inclusion and social justice in technical communication practice, presenting an

antenarrative that encourages scholars to recognize the importance of user advocacy. They

contend that “user advocacy is central to our work, it is correspondingly foundational to our

methods: for example, using participatory design to enable a better understanding of users’

tacit knowledge and engaging in methods specifically suited to inclusive design, such as

feminist-informed narrative inquiry and decolonial methodologies” (219). Applying this

concept to the university's application process involves actively seeking feedback from

international users or applicants, understanding their needs, and incorporating user-centric

design principles. This can lead to an interface that aligns with the preferences and

requirements of the prospective students, making the application process more user-friendly.

Furthermore, Jones, Moore and Walton argue user advocacy should be inclusive design to

make the interface accessible to individuals with varying abilities, considering different

cultural backgrounds, and addressing potential biases in the design.

In light of The Technical Communication Body of Knowledge's emphasis on

prioritizing information users, the research conducted on the usability experience of

international students navigating the University of Texas at Arlington's (UTA) website aligns

with fundamental principles of technical communication, which reads as: “The delivery of

clear, consistent, and factual information—often stemming from complex concepts—for safe

and efficient use and effective comprehension by users. Technical communication is a user-

centered approach for providing the right information, in the right way, at the right time so

that the user’s life is more productive” (7). The definition provided underscores the

importance of delivering clear, consistent, and factual information, especially when dealing

with complex concepts, to ensure safe and efficient use and effective comprehension by

users.
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Conclusion:

In light of the research findings, the university could enhance its technical

communication processes by improving the clarity and consistency of information on the

website, addressing the complexities of the application process, and ensuring safe and

efficient use of the platform. By providing the right information in the right way at the right

time, UTA can not only meet the needs of international students but also foster a more

productive and inclusive educational environment. This research serves as a valuable tool for

identifying weaknesses in the application process, allowing UTA to strategically enhance its

communication and administrative practices, ultimately attracting a more diverse and

qualified student population.

Works Cited

Cleary, Yvonne. The Profession and Practice of Technical Communication. Routledge, 2021.

Jones, Natasha N., Kristen R. Moore, and Rebecca Walton. "Disrupting the past to disrupt the

future: An antenarrative of technical communication." Technical Communication

Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 4, 2016, pp. 211-229.