The OSU Poll, a study using telephone-based data collection, was conducted between February 13 and March 10, 2002, by the Center for Survey Research in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. This annual omnibus survey provides data that may be used for departmental strategic planning in developing and assessing programs and services.

In 2002, valid survey results were received from 1,222 individuals in the following categories: 305 current undergraduate students; 310 current graduate and professional students, 302 non-emeritus, Columbus campus faculty; and 305 current staff. A summary of the results obtained from 49 questions posed by the Offices of the Chief Information Officer (Office of Information Technology [OIT] and Technology Enhanced Learning and Research [TELR]) is presented below, with some comparison data from previous years. The question script used to collect the data follows this report and the frequencies and cross-tabulations are presented in an Adobe PDF file in this section.

This analysis of the 2002 poll results was prepared for the Office of the CIO “PlanIT” strategic planning initiative. Poll questions reviewed below fall into these categories: general satisfaction with CIO services; type, number, and connections for personal computing devices; and use of instructional technologies.

Findings indicate a general satisfaction with services offered by the Offices of CIO, as well as good name recognition and understanding of services. Trends in personally owned computing devices reveal a growing and almost universal access to personal computers in the home among faculty and graduate and undergraduate students. Staff trails slightly but has experienced large gains in the past year. Half the faculty has a second home computer, as do a quarter of the students. An overwhelming preference for Windows PC platforms, strongest among undergraduate students, was shown among all categories. Connectivity to university network from home has also increased during the past year with more than 88% of the OSU Community connecting via several different Internet Service Provider (ISPs). Although the PlanIT Customer Satisfaction Survey noted that students wanted more lab seats and longer hours, 80% of the students reported using the on-campus computer labs fewer than 10 hours week. Use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) increased among faculty and graduate students in this year’s sample. Undergraduates reported use of PDAs less often than either faculty or graduate students, and their use of the technology dropped 2% during the past year to 12%.

Faculty and student use of instructional technologies has widened in the past year. Faculty are concerned with the availability of technical help, updated software, funding, and instructional design help in deciding when and how to use technology in their teaching. Additional faculty concerns about instructional technology focus on intellectual property considerations, release time, training, and inclusion of technology use in salary, promotion and tenure decisions. Among students, exposure to instructional technologies in nearly every classroom doubled during the past year, with undergraduates reporting slightly higher usage than graduates. Undergraduates also express slightly more interest in online classes than graduate students. However, nearly all students, graduates and undergraduates alike, feel that information technology is important to their education.

As a whole, 56% of the university community is satisfied (34%) and very satisfied (22%) with the services offered by 8-Help call-in and e-mail support. The four populations reported the following levels of satisfaction: graduate 59%, staff 58%, undergraduate 57%, and faculty 49% . Less than 4% of the community reported being unsatisfied with the services, with similar numbers in each population (range: faculty 5% to undergraduate 3%).

Home Computers
Almost all faculty, graduate/professional and undergraduates have access to personal computers in the home (97%, 92% and 97% in 2002 respectively, compared to 93%, 90%, 95% for the same groups in 2001). Staff use of home computers continues to trail the other groups (85% in 2002, up from 74% in 2001).

Differences in type and number of computers were found between faculty and students. Of respondents reporting home computer use, laptops are reported as the primary home computers among 29% of faculty, 28% of graduate/professionals, 18% of undergraduates, and 10% of staff. The platform for the primary home computer (desktop or laptop) is overwhelmingly Windows PC (74% faculty, 92% graduate/professionals, 93% undergraduates, and 86% of staff). Macintosh is reported by 21% of the faculty (down from 25% in 2001) as the primary platform. In the other groups, Macintosh platforms account for substantially smaller percentages of the home computer environment (3% for undergraduates, 6% for graduate/professionals, and 8% for staff).

Secondary Computers
A new question for 2002 asked the number of home computers. Fifty-two percent of faculty, 31% of staff, 25% of graduate/professionals, and 26% of undergraduates report having access to two or more computers. Secondary computers were laptops for 46% of faculty, 30% of staff, 40% of graduate/professionals, and 30% of undergraduates. Wireless connection capability was reported for secondary computers by 20% of faculty, 23% of staff, 19% of graduate/professionals, and 28% of undergraduates.

As with the primary computers, the platform reported for secondary computers overwhelmingly was Windows, with Macintosh being used in numbers similar to its use on the primary computer (faculty 20%; undergraduates 9%; graduate/professionals 8%; and staff 11%).

Internet Service Provider for Home Computers
Since 1999, ISP use from home has increased slowly but steadily, with a larger jump this past year than in previous years. From 1999 to 2002, the percentage of respondents reporting use of an ISP to connect to the university network was 78%, 80%, 82%, 88%, respectively. Use of Roadrunner for connection increased from 19% in 2001 to 26% in 2002. The use of ResNet did not grow, but can be considered constant (8% to 7%). OSUWeb.net usage was also constant, with a slight increase (from 1.3% to 3.3%). The numbers for other providers were similar. There is significant difference in whom of the university community in 2002 remains without an ISP for home connection.

Seventy-eight percent of undergraduates report having a home ISP prior to coming to OSU; 49% retained this service. Fifty-nine percent of graduate students report having a home ISP prior to coming to OSU; 40% retained the service.

All populations report a slight increase in connectivity from last year, with staff making the most gains in this area. Undergraduate students remain well connected (4.7% did not have an ISP in 2001 compared to 4.1% in 2002). Graduate students follow closely with 7% not having an ISP in 2002 (compared to 10% in 2001). Faculty home ISP use increased 2%, from 15% to 17% over the past year. Staff continue to trail all groups in access to an ISP, but moved from 37% reporting no home connectivity in 2001 to 24% in 2002.

Of those who do connect to the university network from home, the hourly usage varied according to population. Undergraduates lead in hours connected (22% report more than 20 hours per week), followed by grad students (19%), faculty (14%), and staff (9%).

Computer Lab Use by Students
Computer lab use was reported at fewer than 10 hours per week for 79% of the undergraduates and 68% of the graduates. An additional 15% of the undergraduates and 19% of graduate students report using the labs between 10 and 20 hours per week. Labs are used between 21 and 60 hours per week, by 4% undergraduates and 10% of the graduate students. Two percent undergraduates and 3% graduate students report more than 60 hours per week use.

Viruses, Virus protection, and Firewalls
In 2002, viruses were experienced by 58% of the faculty, compared with 41% of undergraduates, 43% of graduates, and 38% of staff. Virus protection was reported installed on most primary computers at home (faculty 91%; undergraduates 91%; graduate/professionals 89%; and staff 87%). Of the community, 26% use personal firewalls.

Use of Handheld and Wireless Devices
Last year’s poll contained the first question on use of handheld devices. This year, use of handhelds was up slightly overall (16% in 2001 compared with 22% in 2002). Faculty use of handhelds increased the most, from 24% to 31%, with graduate student use rising from 14% to 26%, and staff use from 13% to 22%. Undergraduate use declined slightly at 14% in 2001 and 12% in 2002.

The use of PDAs with wireless network connectivity remained constant (21% in 2002 and 20% in 2002), with graduate students in 2002 reporting the highest percentage of wireless PDA connectivity (graduate students 27%, undergraduates 19%, faculty 18%, and staff 15%). Use of the Web with wireless telephone service, however, was up significantly from 6% in 2001 to 16% in 2002.

Questions asked regarding use of instructional technologies differ by category polled. No questions of this type were asked of staff. Some new questions were asked in 2002, and thus there is no comparative analysis for some data.

Faculty

Frequency and Type: In 2002, 38% of the faculty report using new instructional technologies (e.g., the World Wide Web, lab simulations, PowerPoint presentations or distance learning technologies) in nearly every class session, compared to 25% in 2001. An additional 23% said they used instructional technologies in several class sessions, compared to 21% in 2001. Those who report never using these tools has continued to drop, from 33% in 1999 to 28% in 2001 to 18% in 2002.

Faculty who used the services were satisfied (35%) and very satisfied (12%) with the instructional support offered by the Offices of the CIO. An additional 18% were somewhat satisfied, for a total satisfaction rating of 66%. Four percent were not satisfied. Twenty-five percent have not used the services.

Faculty are somewhat evenly split on the desire to offer distance-learning courses. Of the 302 faculty polled in 2002, 44% said they would, 49% said they would not, and 8% indicated they did not know if they would like to or not.

Rated by faculty as important or very important considerations in their decision to implement instructional technology in their classes were positive feedback from students (cited by 73% of those polled), access to technical help (cited by 70%), access to continually updated hardware and software (62%), funding for project and course development (61%), and ability to work with a developer of computerized instruction (58%). Completing the list, in descending order, are: considerations of access to an internet-ready classroom (56%); maintaining intellectual property ownership (52%); receiving assistance in obtaining copyright permissions (52%); access to computer labs (49%); receiving release time (38%); access to workshops and hands-on training (38%); promotion, tenure, salary decisions (28%); and opportunities to publish on teaching practices (27%).

WebCT Usage by Faculty: Of the 302 valid faculty responses received, 50 faculty (16%) reported using WebCT, 238 (79%) reported no use of WebCT, and 14 (5%) said they did not know if they used it. Of those who did report using WebCT, 84% reported they used it for posting course materials; 66% included links to external resources; 42% used discussion boards; 24% used chat; 76% reported using WebCT e-mail to students; 52% used online assessment; 46% used online grade book; 16% used the student drop box; and 20% reported using other features of the tool.

Of the 238 faculty in the survey who reported not using WebCT, 22% indicated they did not know how to get started; 21% said they had no time for development; 20% did not know what WebCT is; 18% said it did not fit their course needs; 10% answered “donÍt know”; 10% said they had other means to the same end; and 8% cited a variety of other reasons including the belief that their department did not have it, the start-up expenses were too great, and that it offered no advantages, was unreliable, difficult to use, and “not that great.”

Help needed: Other questions were posed to help understand what assistance faculty need in adding these technologies to their classes.

The top three needs (training, incentives, and assistance) are consistent with responses from previous years. In 2002, faculty were asked how they would like to receive their training. In descending order, faculty cited the following: workshop with instructor (75%), cohort workshop, one-on-one mentoring, tutorials with no instructor, self-instruction, conference seminars, non-credit courses, for-credit courses.

Preferences: For the past three years, faculty have been asked “Given adequate support, would you like to offer a course in a distance education format?” Those who said they would were 52% in 2000, 39% in 2001, and 44% in 2002. Eight percent did not know if they would or not, a substantial change from 2001’s 28%. This data would indicate faculty have, for the most part, made decisions regarding teaching distance courses.

Students

Both groups of students overwhelmingly (96%) feel that information technology is either very (54%) or somewhat (42%) important in education.

Of the undergraduate and graduate/professional student samples for 2002, 86% reported using instructional technology in their classes during Autumn 2001 nearly every class (33% up from 18% for last year’s poll), in several classes (23%, down 1%), or in a few classes (23%). Undergraduates reported higher usage than graduate/professionals (87% v. 71%), but the difference fell almost exclusively in the reporting of use in “several classes” (29% for undergraduates v. 17% for graduate/professional), rather than in the categories “nearly every class” (34% v. 32%) or “a few classes” (24% v. 22%). Given that, for the most part, graduate and professional students enroll in focused areas of study rather than in university-wide study, the finding speaks to program level adoption of instructional technologies. Undergraduate students are slightly more interested in online classes than graduate/professional students (41% v. 36% in fully online, 55% v. 43% in partly on-line). Both groups of students reported low uncertainty on this, with 5% to 7% answering “don’t know.”

2002 OSU Poll Questions Submitted by CIO/OIT/TELR

F S G U - Q1

How many personal computers do you own or do you use at your local residence?

1 One
2 Two
3 More than two
4 None [go to Q6]

(Otherwise, go through indented questions once for primary and once for secondary computer tally results for primary and secondary separately)

F S G U - Q2 A,B
Is this computer a . . .

1 Macintosh
2 PC primarily using Windows and Windows applications
3 PC or workstation primarily using UNIX or LINUX
4 something else (specify)

F S G U - Q3 A,B
Is this computer a laptop or other portable?

1 Yes
2 No

F S G U - Q4 A,B
Does this computer have an anti-virus program installed?

1 Yes
2 No
3 Don’t know

F S G U - Q5 A,B
Does this computer have a wireless network connection or adapter?

1 Yes
2 No
3 Don’t Know

F S G U - Q6
Have you experienced a virus on any computer within the last year?

1 Yes
2 No

F S G U - Q7
Which of these Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) or palmtop computers do you use?

1 Palm OS Device (Palm, Visor, Sony Clio, etc)
2 Windows CE, Powered by Windows, or PocketPC Device (Compaq IPaq, HP, etc)
3 Other (Specify)
4 Do not use Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or palmtop computer [go to Q10]

F S G U - Q8
Does the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or palmtop computer that you use have a wireless network connection?

1 Yes
2 No

F S G U - Q9
Do you use the Web with any of the following wireless devices: [check all that apply]

1 a laptop computer
2 a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or palmtop computer
3 a wireless telephone
4 do not use the web with a wireless device

[if Q1 answer is “none”, skip to Q16. [That is, if respondent does not own or have a computer at home, skip questions about internet providers and access]

F S G U - Q10
What Internet Service Provider do you primarily use to connect to the university network from your local residence or home?

1 OSU Homenet dial-up service
2 OSU ResNet service
3 OSUWeb.Net dial-up service
4 AT&T Global dial-up service
5 RoadRunner service
6 America On-line
7 MSN
8 Compuserve
9 SBC/Ameritech DSL
10 Some other Internet service provider (specify)
11 I do not connect to the university network

F S G U - Q11
On average, approximately how many hours per week do you use your primary home Internet Service Provider?

1 less than 10
2 between 10 and 20
3 between 21 and 60
4 more than 60
5 I do not have a home Internet Service Provider

F G S U - Q12
Do you use a personal firewall such as Zone Alarm, Black Ice, or Norton Personal Firewall?

1 Zone Alarm
2 Black Ice
3 Norton Personal Firewall
4 Other (Specify)
5 Do not use

G U - Q13
Did you have a home Internet Service Provider before you came to OSU?

1 yes
2 no [skip to Q16]

G U - Q 14
Do you still use that Internet Service Provider?

1 Yes
2 No

If Q11 = 1,2,5 skip to Q 16

G U - Q15
Did you use your current primary home Internet Service Provider before you came to OSU?

1 yes
2 no

F S G U - Q16
Do you presently have a cellular phone?
1. Yes
2. No

G U - Q17
Over the last six months, approximately how many hours per week have you used a computer located in one of the campus computing laboratories?

1 less than 10
2 between 10 and 20
3 between 21 and 60
4 more than 60

F G S U - Q 18
Which of the following services, offered by the university through UNITS for personal use, do you use? (Check all that apply.)

1 OSUWeb.net (Internet Access) [go to Q20]
2 OSU wireless (cellular service) [go to Q20]
3 UNITS Long Distance [go to Q20]
4 None

F G S U - Q19
Why don't you use these services?

1 I did not know that these services are available for personal use.
2 My current services are less expensive
3 My current services are higher quality/speed
4 My current services are easier to use
5 I have not compared my services with these services
6 I am currently in a long-term contract for my current services and cannot switch providers at this time.
7 None of the above

F G S U - Q20
What products and/or services, for business or personal use, would you like to see UNITS offer in the future? Specify

F G S U - Q21
In which of the following media sources are you most likely to respond to advertisements for telecommunications service?

1 Newspapers
2 Television
3 Mail at home
4 Mail at work
5 E-mail
6 Other

U - Q22
Please indicate which of the following enhanced television services you would purchase if they were made available in the residence halls. [check all that apply]

1 Pay-per-View movies
2 Pay-per-view sporting events
3 Other pay-per-view programming
4 VOD (Video on demand)
5 Games
6 Digital channels
7 Premium movie channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and etc.)
8 Would not purchase any of these services
9 Do not live in a residence hall [go to Q24]

U - Q23
Would you say that you would purchase some or all of the above services if they were offered at:

1 Slightly above current market rates.
2 The current market rate.
3 Slightly below market rates.
4 Would not purchase any of these services.
5 Do not live in a residence hall.

F - Q24
How often do you use instructional technologies such as the World Wide Web, lab simulations, Power Point Presentations, or distance learning technologies in your teaching?

1 nearly every class session during the quarter
2 several class sessions a quarter
3 only a few class sessions a quarter
4 never, that is, you only use the chalkboard or an overhead projector

F - Q25
In your opinion, how important would each of the following be in regard to implementing instructional technology in your classes?

Please use the following scale:
1 = not important
5 = very important

On a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means not important at all, and 5 means very important, how important is each of the following considerations in your decision whether to implement instructional technology in your classes?

knowing that instructional technology development and implementation activities will be favorably considered for promotion/ tenure/salary decisions
1 2 3 4 5

access to continually updated hardware/software
1 2 3 4 5

have access to Internet-ready classroom
1 2 3 4 5

receivinge release time
1 2 3 4 5

have or receive access to workshops and hands-on training opportunities
1 2 3 4 5

receive technical help with computer equipment
1 2 3 4 5

receive funding for project & course development
1 2 3 4 5

receive supplemental salary to deliver online courses
1 2 3 4 5

ability to work with someone who develops computer- delivered instructional materials
1 2 3 4 5

have opportunities to publish research on your technology-supported teaching practices
1 2 3 4 5

receive positive feedback from students about incorporating technology
1 2 3 4 5

have or receive access to computer labs
1 2 3 4 5

receive assistance in obtaining copyright permissions for materials you wish to use online
1 2 3 4 5

maintaining ownership of intellectual property Iyou develop in the context of my your instructional activities
1 2 3 4 5

other (please specify)
1 2 3 4 5

F - Q26
Given adequate support, would you like to offer a course in a distance learning format?

1 Yes
2 No
3 Uncertain/ Don’t Know

F - Q27
Which of the following technology-supported teaching strategies do you use in courses you teach? (check all that apply)

1 Online Course syllabus
2 Web-based materials that support course content
3 Interactive multimedia via CD-ROM or disk
4 Electronic course packs
5 CD-ROM or Web-based tutorials or learning modules that students complete on their own
6 Online self-assessments or student surveys
7 Online discussion forums
8 Online chat rooms and/or instant messaging
9 Digital desktop conferencing
10 Two-way audio/video conferencing
11 Audio/video streaming
14 Wireless use of computers during class sessions
15 Use of computer labs during class sessions
16 Fully online delivery
17 Other (specify)
18 None of the above

F - Q30
How many TELR (Technology Enhanced Learning and Research) events have you attended?

1 no events
2 one to three events
3 four to six events
4 seven or more events
5 Not familiar with TELR

F - Q31
How satisfied are you with the Office of the Chief Information Officer’s instructional support services (TELR, Office of Information Technology, etc.)?

1 Very satisfied
2 Somewhat satisfied
3 Somewhat dissatisfied
4 Very dissatisfied

G U - Q32
In the classes you took during Autumn quarter 2001, how often did your instructors incorporate instructional technologies such as the World Wide Web, lab simulations, Power Point Presentations, or distance learning technologies in their teaching?

1 nearly every class session during the quarter
2 several class sessions a during the quarter
3 only a few class sessions a during the quarter
4 never, that is, your instructors only used the chalkboard and overhead projectors
5 I did not take any classes in Autumn Quarter, 20010

G U - Q33
Would you be interested in taking a course offered by OSU that met face-to-face only occasionally and met the rest of the time online?

1 Yes
2 No
3 Not sure

G U - Q34
Would you be interested in taking a course offered by OSU that only met totally online via the World Wide Web?

1 Yes
2 No
3 Not sure

F - Q36
Please indicate all the ways that you would be interested in learning about instructional technology (check all that apply)

1 general workshops (hands-on with an instructor)
2 cohort workshops (with your discipline colleagues in the proximity of your offices)
3 tutorials (structured, self-paced learning without an instructor)
4 self-instruction (manuals, trial-and-error, etc.)
5 one-on-one mentoring
6 conference seminars
7 non-credit courses
8 for-credit courses
9 other (specify)

F - Q37
Are you using WebCT?

1 yes (if yes, skip to Q39)
2 no

F - Q38
Why are you NOT using WebCT?

1 no time for development
2 don’t know how to get started
3 don’t have adequate computer hardware
4 don’t have updated software
5 doesn’t suit my course’s needs
6 other (specify)

Skip to Q41

F - Q39
What WebCT features do you use? (check all that apply)

1 ability to post course materials
2 ability to link to external resources
3 discussion board
4 virtual classroom (chat feature)
5 send e-mail to class participants
6 online assessment tools
7 online gradebook
8 student drop box
9 other (specify)

F - Q40
From the previous question’s list what three items are most important to you in order of importance. Rank the three WebCT features that are most important to you.

1
2
3 specify

F - Q41
Who creates your course materials (e.g., syllabus, handouts, Web components)? (indicate check all that apply)

1 yourself
2 technical staff within your department
3 technical staff within your college
4 technical staff within the University
5 technical staff external to the University
6 graduate teaching assistants
7 non-teaching graduate students graduate research assistant
8 undergraduate students
9 other (specify)

G U - Q42
What role do you feel information technology (computers, Internet, etc.) plays in your education?

1 A very important role
2 A somewhat important role
3 A negligible role
4 No role at all

G U - Q43
If you had to re-apply to a university, how important would campus information technology resources be in your decision?

1 Very important
2 Somewhat important
3 Not very important
4 Not important at all

U G - Q44
My use of information technology as a student at Ohio State has helped to make me more marketable to future employers.

1 Strongly agree
2 Agree
3 Disagree
4 Strongly disagree
5 Don’t know

U G - Q45
My use of information technology as a student at Ohio State has helped to make me more likely to succeed in future academic work.

1 Strongly agree
2 Agree
3 Disagree
4 Strongly disagree
5 Don’t know

F G - Q46
How does OSU’s current information technology environment support your teaching and instruction?

1 Very well
2 Somewhat well
3 Somewhat poorly
4 Very poorly
5 Don’t know
6 Not teaching

F S G U - Q47
Would you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with the statement: communications produced by the Chief Information Officer such as the Guide to Services, Update newsletter, Orientation handouts, and CIO, TELR, and OIT Web Sites help to keep me informed about technology-related events and services on campus.

1 Strongly agree
2 Agree
3 Disagree
4 Strongly disagree
5 Don’t know

F S G U - Q48
Are you aware of the new OSU Information Technology strategic planning process now underway?

1 Yes
2 No

F S G U - Q49
How satisfied are you with the assistance and service you have received from 8-HELP call-in and e-mail user support?

1 Very satisfied
2 Satisfied
3 Somewhat satisfied
4 Not satisfied
5 Have not used

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