Six Key Takeaways from the 2020 UofT ETRAC Student Survey

The ETRAC Survey at UofT

What is the ETRAC Survey? 

The Educause Technology Research in the Academic Community (ETRAC) survey is conducted annually by participating institutions. There is a Faculty survey and a Student survey.  The Student survey has been run for 16 years, while the Faculty survey has been run for 4 years. The surveys focus on Undergraduate and Faculty technology use and experiences. The survey assesses the following areas: 

• Connectivity and device capabilities
• Experiences learning with technology
• Digital instructional resources

You can view results of previous years' surveys on the Educause site.

ETRAC Student Survey 2020 at UofT 

In 2020, the University of Toronto participated in the ETRAC Student survey for the first time. The survey ran from 12 October through 14 December, 2020 with responses collected from 411 students. The results of the UofT student survey were presented by Marden Paul (Director, Policy, Planning, Governance Assessment in the office of the Chief Information Officer at the University of Toronto) in a meeting of the Enterprise IT Update Committee (EITU)  on February 5, 2021. During that meeting, Mr. Paul presented a summary list of 10 take-aways from the survey results. The ETO office has taken those 10 points and summarized them further into 6 key take-aways, described in the next section below. 

Six Key Take-Aways from the UofT Student Survey

Below are the 6 key take-aways from Paul Marden's presentation. If would prefer to view the information in an infographic format, scroll down past the text.

1. Make allowances for less-than-optimal remote learning experiences
2. Provide interaction PLUS flexible learning options
3. Use fewer applications
4. Help students adjust to online learning
5. Clarify academic integrity
6. Raise awareness of where to get IT help

Make allowances for less-than-optimal remote learning experiences

• Keep in mind that not everyone has reliable high-speed internet, devices capable of running required applications, and quiet, comfortable workspaces.
• Make allowances (these should be consistent across programs) to improve experiences - for assignment submissions, class participation, time to complete tests, or respond to online polls.
• Have a contingency plan for assessments to avoid student anxiety when things go wrong.

Provide interaction PLUS flexible learning options

• Students want both more live interaction with instructors, TAs, and peers AND flexible learning options (e.g., recorded lectures).
• Use effective online techniques regardless of delivery. These include: collaboration tools (e.g., whiteboard), captioning for recordings, breakout rooms, and polls.
• Include both presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) and speaker video (webcam) onscreen for recorded lectures.

Use fewer applications

• Cost, familiarity, and complexity can affect experience.
• Whenever possible, use a reduced set of applications.
• This will benefit the quality and capacity of support and expertise in their use.

Help students adjust to online learning

• Be aware of different levels of comfort with online learning.
• Support time management with assignment reminders (e.g., integration with student calendar is helpful).
• Provide guidance on how to use applications as well as opportunities to test connection capacities for applications used in a course.

Clarify academic integrity

• Reinforce in syllabus or test instructions what resources are permitted.
• Policy inconsistencies across courses and/or departments can put students at risk.

Raise awareness of where to get IT help

• Student awareness of local IT or central help is limited.
• Also, local or central IT help may not be able to assist with application-specific concerns.
• Consider: How can we adequately advise what supports are available and how to engage?

Have a Quercus (or EdTech) question? Please contact FASE's EdTech Office.