The student attends university classes primarily because she believes a degree is necessary to get a good job, but finds most classes boring. While she enjoys learning, she feels she learns more through work experiences than in university lectures. She only attends classes that directly relate to assessments. The student feels disconnected from university and frustrated that attending classes is a necessity rather than something she truly values.

1. SAY
• “I need a degree to get a job, well a good job anyway… like in
strategy or marketing or consulting”
• “Education is important to me”
• “My parents told me university is a must these days, I guess
that’s why I’m studying Commerce”
• “I do enjoy learning, but I often find uni really boring”
• “I only go to classes I know I have to, like because they are
handing out case studies or giving pre-exam briefings”
• “I feel like I learn more when I’m working than when I’m at uni”
THINK
• Education is important, but university classes are not . She cannot
see the value in attendance unless there is an immediate outcome
• Tertiary education is a means to a desired end, but not that desirable
in itself
DO
• Travels 2 hours to attend university 4 days a week
• Take notes attentively in lectures, but does not engage when
questions are posed to the audience
• Has conversations with friends before deciding whether or not
to attend a particular lecture or tutorial
• Works part time in an unrelated job (1 week and 1 weekend
night)
FEEL
• Disconnected : her personal desire / hunger to learn is not matched
by an experience that is valued by the learner
• Frustrated: attending university is a trade-off between a necessity
and “what else” she could be doing
Problem statement: [The] Penultimate student needs a way to acquire skills and knowledge that is valued, because while
education is seen to be important, university itself is not.
Stakeholder: current university student
High achieving student in her second last year of a Commerce degree who is a motivated, diligent, socially
active, and friendly individual, in her early twenties