2009-10 Student Computing Ownership and Use Survey
The 20th Annual Student Computing Ownership and Use Survey indicates that student ownership of computers has leveled off but the type of computers students are bringing is shifting. During the 2009-10 academic year students were asked to complete a very brief survey on their ownership and use of computers. Since the survey was directly tied to mandatory password changes the number of participants directly equaled the number of students taking courses at St. Olaf. The survey results found that 99% of the students brought a computer (or two) to campus.
For a couple of years IIT has been watching the upward trend in Macintosh ownership. Last year 39.80% of the student body owned a Macintosh. This year the number has climbed to 48.24%. First year students lead the way with 51.61% Macintosh ownership. Laptops dominate with a total of 96% students owning a laptop. The number of students bringing multiple computers to campus has decreased from 6% last year, to 3% this year.
Computer Ownership |
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| First Year | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | |
| Computer Ownership | 98% | 99% | 99% | 98% |
| Laptop Ownership | 96%< | 97%< | 96%< | 95%< |
These data are important to know as it helps determine the skill set the professional and student staff should have. In years past, Macintosh ownership among students, as well as use among faculty and staff, was so low that IIT had few staff with the expertise to answer more than just the basic questions about the Mac. IIT has had to retool skill sets in order to strengthen our support services without increasing staff.
High computer ownership has not significantly changed how students use the computing resources provided by the campus. An amazing 88% of the students indicated that they use the computing resources the college provides. This is down only 1% from the previous year.
Student Use of St. Olaf Computing Labs |
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| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |
| Computer Ownership | 96% | 97% | 96% | 97% | 98% |
| Use Public Computing Facilities | 93% | 86% | 90% | 89% | 88% |
Residential hall lab use remains the most popular computing location with 68% of students using these labs. This is down from 74% the previous year. The use of public printers has increased to nearly 90% which is up from 88% the past couple years.
One measurement IIT uses to measure the effectiveness of our services is the student satisfaction rating. Students are asked to rate IIT services on a scale from poor to excellent. While there are some slight variations among the classes, the overall picture of satisfaction follows a similar pattern.
STUDENT SATISFACTION WITH IIT SERVICES
One area IIT has been monitoring is the change in satisfaction levels as students’ progress through their four years at St. Olaf. The chart below documents the current seniors satisfaction with IIT services from their first year to the current year:
CLASS OF 2011
SATISFACTION WITH IIT SERVICES
As the graph shows, the students in the class of 2011 were more inclined to be satisfied with IIT services their junior year than they were their first year. However, general satisfaction with IIT services has dropped during their senior year. IIT contributes much of this decrease in satisfaction to the implementation of the new public printing system one campus, stoPrint, which came in as the top complaint for the 2009-10 academic year.
The most helpful part of our survey can also be the most painful–the student comments! This year 368 students provided their comments, suggestions, complaints and compliments. For the past few years the number of student who take time to comment has decreased. Back in 2004-05 we received 777 comments. The student comments provide us with feedback on some of the specific services we currently offer, as well as guide us to areas we need to research for future services.
Top Ten Issues for 2009-10 |
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Number of Responses |
% Among Responders |
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| StoPrint | 79 |
21% |
|
|
38 |
10% |
|
| Improve wireless reception | 30 |
8% |
|
| Complaints about technical help | 27 |
7% |
|
| Complaints on password change requirements | 23 |
6% |
|
| Improve communication with campus | 22 |
6% |
|
| Had something nice to say about IIT | 20 |
5% |
|
| Extend support hours | 13 |
4% |
|
| Suggestions for software build/public computer configuration | 13 |
4% |
|
| Request for faster help | 9 |
2% |
|
StoPrint issues brought in the largest number of complaints, with 79 students sharing their frustrations with the system. Public computer configuration and maintenance were another hot issue for students, ranking number 2 and 9 on the list. On a more positive note, wireless network issues ranked number 3 on the list, two spots down from the number 1 ranking it held the previous few years. Complaints about technical help and requests for faster help were also reduced from the previous year from 39 to 27 and 13 to 9 respectively, and complaints on password change requirements remained constant at 23 responses. Two new items on the top ten issues list include requests for improved IIT communication with campus and extended support hours.
It is helpful to look back at previous surveys to see the trends and changes in student comments. If IIT makes an effort to correct a problem through upgrades, new services or staff training we can often measure the success of our efforts if we see a reduction or elimination in complaints. For example, in 2007-08 students were very unhappy with our e-mail system. The switch to Google has completely removed e-mail as an issue among the students. From 2006-2009 students were very unhappy with the wireless network reception on campus. IIT has put much of its focus on improving the wireless network and as a result wireless network complaints have decreased.
The following chart provides a look back on rankings of this year’s Top Ten issues.
Top Ten Issues |
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2004-2010 |
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(as a percentage of those who submitted comments) |
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05-06 |
06-07 |
07-08 |
08-09 |
09-10 |
|
| stoPrint | 0% |
9% |
0% |
0% |
21% |
| Improve maintenance of public computers & printers | 3% |
5% |
5% |
2% |
10% |
| Improve wireless reception | 11% |
14% |
27% |
27% |
8% |
| Complaints about technical help | 0% |
5% |
6% |
11% |
7% |
| Complaints on password change requirements | 0% |
0% |
7% |
6% |
6% |
| Improve communication with campus | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
6% |
| Had something nice to say about IIT | 13% |
13% |
3% |
6% |
5% |
| Extend support hours | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
4% |
| Suggestions for software build/public computer configuration | 0% |
0% |
0% |
0% |
4% |
| Request for faster help | 7% |
4 |
4% |
4% |
2% |
Over the summer of 2010 IIT worked to address the student complaints and issues. Some of the projects included:
- Expansion of the number of wireless access points in the residence halls.
- Transitioned to a new trouble ticket (issue tracking) system.
- Transitioned to active directory.
- Improved public lab checking and deployment test standards.
- Expanded Helpdesk hours
- Improved the Helpdesk student training program.
After 20 years, the student survey remains one of IIT’s most useful assessment tools.
