Transcript Slide 1

UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD
IT SERVICES STUDENT SURVEY
Prepared by
Stuart Wright, Senior Research Executive, [email protected]
June 2009
J4130
www.tora.co.uk t: 01865 728272
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BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY
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Background and methodology
• The IT Services within the University of Bradford wished to conduct an
online survey with a sample of their students in order to better
understand attitudes towards the services they provide.
• An online survey was produced, which covered a number of key
performance indicators that could be used as the basis for any tracking
research.
• The questionnaire was also designed to provide comparable data to
findings from the University of Sheffield, which have been used in this
report.
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In total, the survey was sent to a random cross section of 1,000 students.
To help incentivise students to take part in the survey, a prize draw was
held offering a £100 Amazon voucher as the prize.
138 students responded to the survey, giving a response rate of c.14%.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary and Conclusions
Overall, usage of University computing facilities is relatively high, with 8 in 10 students initially claiming to use the
general use PC clusters. However, when asked more specifically about the frequency of use, over 9 in 10 students
(93%) reported using the general use PC clusters at least occasionally. Similarly, 97% of students use their
University email accounts, with 70% doing so on a daily basis and a further 16% 3-4 times a week.
Broadly speaking, usage of University and computing and network facilities is more frequent among younger
students. For example, on average, students aged 25 years and under access their University e-mail account over
six times a week (6.39), whereas students aged 45 years or older only access their account less than four times a
week (3.79). On average, male students are also likely to use computing facilities more frequently than female
students.
At least 2 in 5 students have used each of the support services provided by IT Services staff. However, use of these
services is much less frequent than of the general facilities, with the majority of those using the services only doing
so occasionally. The average frequency of use of the e-mail support service is significantly greater among Bradford
students than among students using the same service at the University of Sheffield (0.36 times per week versus 0.10
times per week respectively).
Around four in five students are satisfied with opening hours of the University computing facilities (81%) and
availability of computing facilities (78%) – the latter being a significantly higher proportion of satisfied students than
was recorded among Sheffield students regarding the same aspect (61%). However, Bradford students are
significantly less satisfied than Sheffield students with three of the eight rated aspects (opening hours, reliability of
systems and prepay printing service). Of particular concern is the level of satisfaction with the reliability of systems,
with a quarter of students dissatisfied.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Summary and Conclusions (continued)
One fifth of students said that their first choice of possible improvements would be to increase the number of PCs
available to them. Similarly, a high proportion of students also suggested that the number of printers be increased,
with 13% stating this as their first choice of improvement and a further 15% as their second choice. Improving the
quality of student computing rooms and increasing the number of silent IT study spaces were also highly rated by
students and action in these areas should be considered moving forward.
Overall, three-quarters (76%) of students agree that IT resources and services are good enough for their needs and
less than one in ten (9%) disagree. Similar proportions agree and disagree (75% and 11% respectively) that they
have been able to access general IT resources when they have needed to, which is comparable to levels of
agreement seen among students from the University of Sheffield.
However, availability of specialised equipment and facilities appears to be slightly more of an issue. Just over half
(54%) agreed that they have been able to access specialised equipment/ facilities when they needed to – a
significantly lower proportion than the 72% of Sheffield students who agreed that they had access to specialised
equipment and facilities when needed. Disappointingly, almost one in five (19%) disagree with this statement,
highlighting the importance for improvement in this area.
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MAIN FINDINGS
SIGNIFICANCE TESTING
Significantly higher than Sheffield 2008 data
Significantly lower than Sheffield 2008 data
Significantly higher than total
Significantly lower than total
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General use PC clusters and personal computers are by far the
most common computing facilities used
COMPUTING FACILITIES USED
Total
Male students are significantly more
likely than female students to use both
their own laptop (21% versus 6%) and
other devises such as PDAs or Smart
Phones (20% versus 6%).
%
Base: (All respondents: 138)
Q1. What computing facilities do you use?
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Around two-thirds of students use their own printer, with a similar
proportion using printers in PC clusters
PRINTING FACILITIES USED
Total
Female students (75%) and undergraduate
students (73%) are significantly more likely
to use their own printer than male students
or postgraduate students (both 57%).
%
Base: (All respondents: 138)
Q2. What printing facilities do you use?
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Use of University email accounts is high, with 7 in 10 students
accessing their account on a daily basis. By contrast, almost 2 in 5
(38%) never use Roamnet
FREQUENCY OF USING THE FOLLOWING UNIVERSITY COMPUTING AND
NETWORK FACILITIES DURING TERM TIME (I)
Average
frequency of use
(per week)
5.63
5.00
1.93
1.35
1.04
0.97
%
Every day
Base: (All respondents: 138)
3-4 times a week
1-2 times a week
Every 2 weeks
Occasionally
Never
Q3. How often do you use the following University computing and network facilities during term time?
10
On average, younger students and male students use the
University’s computing facilities the most frequently
FREQUENCY OF USING THE FOLLOWING UNIVERSITY COMPUTING AND
NETWORK FACILITIES DURING TERM TIME (II)
Average frequency of use (per week)
AGE
SEX
LEVEL
Total
Under
25
2534
3544
45+
Male
Female
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
University e-mail account
5.63
6.39
6.14
4.37
3.79
6.13
5.23
5.75
5.41
Internet access
5.00
5.40
5.98
3.24
4.28
5.50
4.60
5.09
4.83
General use PC clusters
1.93
2.25
2.03
1.73
0.81
2.27
1.67
1.95
1.90
Departmental PC clusters
1.35
1.43
1.64
0.93
1.08
1.98
0.85
1.27
1.50
The wireless network (Roamnet)
1.04
1.19
1.17
0.81
0.53
1.22
0.89
0.92
1.28
Printers in PC clusters
0.97
1.03
1.14
0.90
0.39
1.17
0.81
0.93
1.04
(138)
(55)
(40)
(29)#
(14)#
(61)
(77)
(91)
(47)
• There is a correlation between age and frequency of using University computing facilities – specifically,
the younger the student the more frequently they are likely to use the computing facilities
• On average, male students also use computing facilities more frequently then their female counterparts
# Caution – low base size
Base: (All respondents)
Q3. How often do you use the following University computing and network facilities during term time?
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On average, E-mail support is the most frequently used service
provided by the University, although a greater proportion use both
the IT Services web pages and the Learner Support Centre
FREQUENCY OF USING THE FOLLOWING SUPPORT SERVICES
PROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY IT SERVICES STAFF
Every day
3-4 times a week
1-2 times a week
Every 2 weeks
Average
frequency of use
(per week)
University
of Sheffield
2008
0.36
0.10
0.32
*0.20
0.28
N/A
0.16
N/A
0.11
0.05
Occasionally
Never
* Refers to the University of Sheffield’s Corporate Information and Computing Services web pages
Base: (All respondents: 138)
Q4. How often do you use the following support services provided by University IT services staff?
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Satisfaction with the reliability of systems is a concern, with a quarter
of students dissatisfied. Three of the eight aspects measured
achieve significantly lower scores than Sheffield University
University of
Bradford 2009
% Very/ fairly
satisfied
SATISFACTION WITH THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF UNIVERSITY
COMPUTING FACILITIES
University of
Sheffield 2008
% Very/ fairly
satisfied
Opening hours (130)
88
Availability of computing facilities (133)
61
Software (131)
75
Printed/ online information on
using computer services (113)
65
Availability of staff (123)
71
IT advice and support (114)
N/A
Prepay printing service (123)
76
Reliability of systems (132)
72
Base: (Those answering)
%
%
%
Very dissatisfied
Neither satisfied nor
dissatisfied
Very satisfied
Q5. How satisfied are you with the following aspects of University computing facilities?
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Increasing the number of PCs and improving the quality of student
computing rooms are considered possible areas of improvement
POSSIBLE AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
Total
1st choice of improvement
2nd choice of improvement
%
Base: (All respondents: 138)
Q6. Here is a list of possible improvements. Which would be your first and second choice of things to improve?
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Overall, around three-quarters of students agree that general IT
resources and services are accessible and good enough to meet
their needs. However, specialised equipment is less accessible
AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS
University of
Bradford 2009
% Definitely/
mostly agree
The IT resources and services are
good enough for my needs (124)
University of
Sheffield 2008
% Definitely/
mostly agree
N/A
I have been able to access general
IT resources when I needed to (119)
75
I have been able to access
specialised equipment, facilities, or
rooms when I needed to (107)
72
Base: (Those answering)
%
%
%
Definitely/
mostly disagree
Neither agree nor
disagree
Mostly/ definitely
agree
Q7. For each statement below, please indicate the extent of your agreement or disagreement
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SPONTANEOUS COMMENTS ABOUT THE COMPUTING SERVICES/ FACILITIES
“As a new user additional
instruction could have
been given particularly to
those who only have basic
IT skills”
“It would be useful if
department IT support were
available outside lesson
time”
“The email system is
archaic and difficult to use
and the IT staff are very
unhelpful when anything
goes wrong”
“Printers in computer
clusters were, most of the
time, not working and were
out of ink”
“Although quite a few areas
are labelled as silent or
'quiet' study spaces, there is
often quite a lot of noise”
“Although computers are
generally available, a high
proportion are either not
working properly or are
slow”
“Introduce another way of
putting credit on university
card for printing, for
example online payment
machines in the library.”
“The number of printers is
not enough and they work
at a very slow speed”
“I find it very expensive to
print out at the library and
it is much cheaper for me
to buy my own printer and
maintain it myself”
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APPENDIX
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STUDENT PROFILE
SEX:
TOTAL
%
Male
44
Undergraduate
66
Female
56
Postgraduate
34
AGE:
TYPE OF STUDENT:
TOTAL
%
SCHOOL:
Under 25
40
Corporate and Central services
-
25-34
29
School of Computing, Informatics and Media
9
35-44
21
School of Engineering, Design and Technology
12
45+
10
School of Health Studies
24
School of Life Sciences
21
School of Lifelong Education And Development
7
DISABILITY:
Yes
9
School of Management
8
No
90
School of Social and International Studies
19
Not known
1
Base: (All respondents)
(138)
Base: (All respondents)
(138)
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FREQUENCY OF USING THE FOLLOWING SUPPORT SERVICES
PROVIDED BY UNIVERSITY IT SERVICES STAFF
Average frequency of use (per week)
AGE
SEX
LEVEL
Total
Under
25
2534
3544
45+
Male
Female
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
E-mail support
0.36
0.35
0.42
0.19
0.54
0.40
0.32
0.16
0.73
IT Services web pages
0.32
0.30
0.30
0.31
0.53
0.31
0.33
0.30
0.36
Student IT workshops
0.28
0.33
0.21
0.28
0.26
0.44
0.15
0.29
0.25
IT advice (Learner support centre)
0.16
0.21
0.10
0.22
0.03
0.23
0.11
0.18
0.12
Telephone helpdesk (ICT service
desk)
0.11
0.17
0.09
0.06
0.02
0.13
0.09
0.13
0.07
(138)
(55)
(40)
(29)#
(14)#
(61)
(77)
(91)
(47)
# Caution – low base size
Base: (All respondents)
Q4. How often do you use the following support services provided by University IT services staff?
19
SATISFACTION WITH THE FOLLOWING ASPECTS OF UNIVERSITY
COMPUTING FACILITIES
% Very/ fairly satisfied
AGE
SEX
LEVEL
Total
Under
25
2534
3544
45+
Male
Female
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
Opening hours
81
80
81
88
75
74
88
82
81
Availability of computing
facilities
78
76
74
86
75
75
79
77
78
Software
74
72
73
82
59
65
80
74
70
Printed/ online information on
using computer services
69
70
69
65
70
68
70
68
70
Availability of staff
68
59
69
88
60
55
77
63
77
IT advice and support
67
58
74
76
63
54
75
63
54
Prepay printing service
62
63
46
77
70
59
64
66
52
Reliability of systems
58
50
53
83
54
52
63
56
63
(138)*
(55)
(40)
(29)#
(14)#
(61)
(77)
(91)
(47)
* Please note that base sizes may vary for each aspect depending on those answering
Base: (Those answering)
# Caution – low base size
Q5. How satisfied are you with the following aspects of University computing facilities?
20
AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS
% Definitely/ mostly agree
AGE
SEX
LEVEL
Total
Under
25
2534
3544
45+
Male
Female
Undergraduate
Postgraduate
The IT resources and services
are good enough for my needs
76
73
74
81
80
70
81
78
71
I have been able to access
general IT resources when I
needed to
75
77
73
79
66
74
77
75
79
I have been able to access
specialised equipment,
facilities, or rooms when I
needed to
54
61
39
56
58
52
56
52
59
(125)*
(53)
(35)
(26)#
(11)#
(56)
(69)
(86)
(39)
* Please note that base sizes may vary for each aspect depending on those answering
Base: (Those answering)
# Caution – low base size
Q7. For each statement below, please indicate the extent of your agreement or disagreement
21