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Graduate/Professional Student Survey

Executive Summary

A random sample of 302 graduate and professional students was surveyed about information technology at the university. Ninety-four per cent (94%) of the sample rated themselves as average to expert computer users. Sixty-one per cent (61%) indicated they were somewhat or very familiar with information technology resources at OSU. The overall level of graduate/professional student satisfaction was high (88%), as was confidence in the university's ability to meet their technology needs (77%). With respect to helpfulness and responsiveness of technology support services staff, only 5% of the respondents were somewhat dissatisfied and less than 1% strongly dissatisfied. Responses to open-ended questions do not point to major weaknesses or consistent complaints. However, these same responses point to the need for more education and training about existing information technology, indicate inconvenience associated with incorporating media and technology into the classroom, and some dissatisfaction associated with remote access to central OSU e-mail. Compared to the undergraduate sample, the graduate/ professional sample is somewhat more critical of information technology resources, and makes more and specific suggestions for improvement.

Graduate/Professional Student Survey Result

For convenience, the term "graduate student" will be used to refer to both graduate and professional students in the remainder of this summary. A series of questions pertained to graduate student satisfaction with specific information technology areas and services. Satisfaction ratings are summarized in the following table:

Information Technology Area or Service
Very Dissatisfied
or
Somewhat Unsatisfied
Neither Satisfied
or
Dissatisfied
Very Satisfied
or
Somewhat Satisfied
Do Not Use
or
Do Not Know
Student computing center

4.3%

7%

54.6%

34.1%
ResNet internet access

1.3%

.7%

14.6%

83.4%
OSU web.net

1.6%

2.3%

13.3%

82.7%
HomeNet dial up internet access

7.6%

2.3%

33.7%

56.3%
Web-based student/faculty/staff directory

3.3%

3.3%

68.9%

24.5%
Computing short courses

.7%

1.3%

11%

87.1%
OIT walk-in customer service

1.7%

2.3%

29.8%

66.2%
UNITS telephone services

3%

1%

35.1%

60.9%
Computing, internet or research consultation

.3%

1.7%

25.8%

72.2%
Audio or visual services

3.7%

1.7%

24.9%

69.8%
Software to Go

2.6%

2.3%

34.4%

60.6%
Central OSU e-mail (osu.edu)

6%

2%

77.5%

14.6%
College or departmental e-mail

2.3%

2.3%

54.3%

41.1%
Non-OSU e-mail (e.g., Hotmail, AOL)

10.6%

4.6%

56.3%

28.5%
Consultation on set-up and configuration of computers

5.3%

2.3%

43.4%

49%
Academic statistical computing consultation

2%

2.3%

15.9%

79.8%
UNIX

2.3%

1.3%

19.6%

76.8%
Web and visual design and support services

2.4%

2%

19.5%

76.1%

When asked for suggestions about additions to Software to Go, graduate students make more and specific recommendations compared to undergraduates. The absolute number for each of the following grad student suggestions is small and they are listed in order of frequency: statistical analysis and mathematical software, Photoshop, virus scanning, web building/editing software, and visualization and graphic design applications.

There is a high usage level of central OSU e-mail (N = 258 or 85%) with a relatively small portion (N = 18) reporting some level of dissatisfaction. Additionally, 59% of the graduate student sample use college or departmental e-mail and satisfaction with these utilities are positive. Graduate students, when compared to undergraduates, are a little less likely to use non-OSU e-mail, and are also less satisfied with non-OSU e-mail.

A series of items on the survey pertained to graduate student use of various applications in their work at the university. Their responses are listed below, in order of decreasing frequency:

Application

Never
or
Seldom

About half the time

Most of the time
or
All of the time
Internet/web access (e.g., Navigator)

5.6%

7.9%

86%
Word processing (e.g., Word)

13.5%

9.3%

76.5%
E-mail software (e.g., Outlook)

32.1%

7.3%

59%
Spreadsheets (e.g., Excel)

40.7%

17.5%

41.1%
Presentation software (e.g., PowerPoint)

38.7%

21.5%

38.1%
Publishing (e.g., Acrobat)

45.7%

23.8%

28.8%
Graphics (e.g., Photoshop)

68.5%

16.9%

13.6%
Statistical analysis software (e.g., SPSS)

71.1%

11.9%

12.6%
Simulations (e.g., CAD)

81.4%

4.3%

8.6%
Web editors (e.g., FrontPage)

80.5%

6.6%

7%
Multimedia software (e.g., Director)

75.1%

7%

5%
Video or digital image editing

82.4%

8.6%

5%
Calendar/scheduling (e.g., GroupWise)

86.8%

3.3%

3.6%
Database (e.g., Filemaker)

84.4%

6.6%

3.3%
Project management (e.g., Project)

90.7%

2.3%

1.6%

Note: Percentages across rows do not add up to 100% due to "not familiar" and "do not know" responses.

One-third of the graduate student sample reported using applications other than those listed in the table immediately above. MATLAB (N = 19) and Mathematica or other mathematics software (N = 12) were most frequently cited.

A series of items related to the frequency of graduate student usage of media in their work at the university. Responses are summarized in the table below:

Media

Never
or
Seldom

About half the time

Most of the time
or
All of the time
Computer-projected presentations

49.3%

16.6%

34.1%
Overhead projection of transparences

58.3%

20.2%

21.5%
Web-based text and graphics

73.5%

14.6%

8.9%
Video and/or audio tapes

78.2%

14.9%

6.6%
Parallel/high performance computers

71.5%

5.6%

11.2%
Web-based audio and video

85.1%

9.9%

4%
Non-web-based digital video or audio

87.1%

8.6%

2.6%
Filmstrips and/or projected movies

89.1%

7.3%

2.7%
Computer generated animation/graphics

89.4%

5.6%

3.7%
3-D modeling

90%

3.3%

4.3%
Videoconferencing

96%

3.6%

.3%
Web-based conferencing

94.7%

2.3%

.3%

Note: Percentages across rows do not add up to 100% due to "not familiar" and "do not know" responses.

When asked about barriers to using applications and media, common themes were that the technology was not available in the classroom, equipment was difficult to secure, and that they needed more information and training on available technology.

A block of questions assessed the extent of graduate student interest in using the web for various activities, provided they could more easily obtain support and services. Their projections are summarized in the following table:

Projected Web Use
With easy access to support and services

Never
or
Seldom
  About half the time

Most of the time
or
All of the time
To conduct research

16.9%

26.2%

55.6%
For on-line materials archives

32.7%

21.5%

44%
For on-line course reserves

34.1%

16.2%

47.4%
To facilitate collaboration with people at the university

36.4%

26.5%

34.8%
To present work to others at the university

40.4%

25.5%

33.2%
Discipline-specific software

48%

20.1%

29.3%
To gather information via on-line quizzes, etc.

49.3%

20.2%

26.5%
To facilitate collaboration with people around the world

53.9%

14.9%

29.8%
To present work to others around the world

54.3%

16.2%

27.8%
For GIS or other spatial displays of information

61%

14.2%

22.2%
To conduct simulations, modeling, or visualizations

61.6%

16.9%

19.2%
To perform compositions, dances, or other music/art activities

83.8%

8.9%

7%

Note: Percentages across rows do not add up to 100% due to "do not know" responses.

An open-ended question inquired about how else graduate students would like to use the web, if they could more easily obtain support and service. Fifty-one (51) graduate students responded. About ten of the responses referred to the desire to secure library materials (books, journal articles). A smaller number of references were about constructing web pages, having the course registration web site available 24 hours a day, having increased browser selection, and activities that would support instruction (e.g., on-line class discussions, being able to secure syllabi from other universities, posting grades).

Two hundred sixty-eight (268) graduate students responded to an open-ended question about how they would describe information technology at OSU to a grad student at another university. The most common description used was "pretty good." Respondents emphasized ease of access, convenience and many positive comments were made about technical support and services. About 20 graduate students described information technology at OSU as "decent," "adequate," or "alright." About eight use terms such as "varies," "needs improvement," "lags," and "very poor." A small number also note the need for more information about and training on information technology resources. While the larger trend is quite positive, graduate students appear to be somewhat more critical of information technology than do their undergraduate counterparts.

Graduate students were also asked to imagine talking to that same grad student from another university three years from now and to describe what they would like to be able to tell that student. The most common theme (among total N of 241) was that information technology had continued to evolve and improve, had kept up-to-date, and was of "leading" or "cutting edge" quality. Graduate students wanted to be able to say that access was even better, especially from remote locations. Some grad students (N = less than ten for each of the following) reported they would like to be able to say they used and knew more about information technology than they did three years earlier, that more courses were on-line, that the problems with e-mail access had been fixed, and that technology was more integrated into the classroom. Three respondents mentioned the development of wireless connectivity.

When asked what enhancements were necessary to reach the vision of information technology they would like to project three years from now, 105 reported they did not know. Thirty-seven said no enhancements were needed. A number of suggested improvements came from 159 additional respondents. The most frequently mentioned (N = approximately 20) enhancement was more information about and training to use information technology resources. Less frequently mentioned were current, up-to-date hardware and software, more computer labs with longer hours, more computers available in general (e.g., in library), more technology in the classroom, increased use of the web, more on-line courses, more faculty training in technology (N = 3 for this suggestion), and the ability to do research and materials acquisition (e.g., journal articles) on the web.

Sixty-one per cent of the grad student sample rated themselves as "very familiar" or "somewhat familiar" with information technology resources at the university. Thirty per cent (30%) said they were "somewhat unfamiliar" or "very unfamiliar." Ninety-four per cent (94%) of the graduate student sample viewed themselves as either average, above average or expert computer users, with only 6% indicating they were beginners or below average.

When asked to rate the helpfulness and responsiveness of IT support services staff at the university, 75% of the sample expressed satisfaction, 15% were neutral, 5% dissatisfied, and only 1 respondent indicated "strongly dissatisfied." About 5% reported they did not know. When asked if they were satisfied with the ability of information technology resources at OSU to meet their technology needs, 77% expressed satisfaction, 12% were neutral, and 6% dissatisfied. Again, 5% reported they did not know.

For overall level of satisfaction with information technology at the university, 88% reported satisfaction (vs. 93% observed in the undergraduate sample), 7% were neutral, 2% somewhat dissatisfied and no one reported being strongly dissatisfied.


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