First year undergraduate survey 2013

IT Services again invited all first year undergraduates to complete an online survey in December to give us feedback on their first experiences of using IT at Sussex. There was an excellent response which included a large number of comments and suggestions.

746
responses
22%
response rate
16% in 2012
Campus computers

Most respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the computers on the campus although many thought there needed to be more of them. Some were also not clear on where they could use computers and commented that it could take some time to login or use some applications.

95%
POSITIVE
92% USING
2012 positive: 93% use: 94%
Not enough computers (37)
Appreciate being able to use computers 24/7 (33)
Computers are slow to login and use (13)
Not clear where we can use computers (9)
Make specialist software more available (5)
Computers have a good range of software (4)
It would be useful to have remote access (3)
Email

The email service is well-regarded in the main although there were a few comments criticising the usability of the webmail interface. For example, some remarked on how it was difficult to delete email.

90%
POSITIVE
98% USING
2012 positive: 89% use: 98%
Email is reliable and works well (7)
The webmail interface is not user-friendly (5)
Difficult to delete webmail messages (4)
Printing

The service is seen as reliable and there are plenty of printing facilities but there were a lot of comments on the cost of printing.

87%
POSITIVE
81% USING
2012 positive: 86% use: 79%
Printing should be cheaper (25)
Printing is reliable and easy to use (11)
There are plenty of printers (10)
Can be hard to locate printouts (4)
Shawcross Service Desk

Satisfaction with the main Service Desk was up slightly on last year and respondents remarked on the friendliness of staff. There were some comments on the delays at the start of term when a lot of students needed help getting connected.

94%
POSITIVE
58% USING
2012 positive: 90% use: 55%
Staff are friendly / knowledgeable (27)
More staff needed at the start of term (4)
IT Services University of Sussex January 2014

The Shawcross Service Desk has been used more than in previous years but respondents are less likely to use other sources of help. They also use IT Services official channels less when seeking information.

Training

A few respondents had comments on ITS training courses:

I've appreciated the training courses.
I think the promotion of IT courses could be improved, I attended a few this term but then as I got busier I forgot to keep checking and would like to be reminded of new ones coming up.

Getting help

What other methods do you use to get help with IT?

Library help point
18%
25% in 2012
Phone ITS
13%
14% in 2012
ITS website
28%
33% in 2012
ITS Facebook page
10%
11% in 2012

Information

Where do you go for information about IT?

ITS booklets
59%
66% in 2012
Welcome sessions
40%
53% in 2012
ITS web pages
47%
46% in 2012
Word of mouth
52%
46% in 2012

Computer rooms are appreciated, especially the fact that many are open around the clock:

24/7 access to computers and printers can be a real help especially should a student's printer break right before the deadline!
The computers made available 24/7 are extremely useful, especially when it comes to courses where you must use programs that you may not be able to access on your personal computer.
What I liked the most about the IT service is the 24/7 availability of most of the facilities.

Computer rooms

Where do you use computers on the campus?

Library
85%
80% in 2012
Shawcross
41%
46% in 2012
Pevensey I
12%
15% in 2012
Richmond
7%
6% in 2012
Northfield

(social centre)

17%
17% in 2012
York House
13%
14% in 2012

Internet

How satisfied are you with the internet connections on the campus?

Wi-fi
48%
POSITIVE
99% USING
2012 positive: 48% use: 96%
Wired
68%
POSITIVE
87% USING
2012 positive: 61% use: 89%
Internet connections need improving (83)
Speed/bandwidth could be better (70)
Had problems with initial setup (51)
Improve connectivity in Northfield (27)
Improve connectivity in the Library (20)
Improve wi-fi coverage (11)

More than half the suggestions collected in the survey were about improving access to the internet from personally owned computers, tablets and smart phones.

Wi-fi coverage is good (50)
Assistance with connecting laptops is helpful (30)
The wired service works well (12)
Connections are reliable (11)
Wi-fi is good (9)
Connection speed is acceptable (9)

There were also a lot of positive comments about internet access, confirming that this is one of the most important services for students.

Typical remarks on internet connections:

Very often I have problems connecting to eduroam in the Library.
The only issue I have with IT at Sussex was the difficulty of connecting when school first started in freshers week. If I wasn't an overseas student who needed it to contact people in the States I would have been more okay with how long it took to access wifi.
Better Wi-Fi connection in Residences (esp. Northfield). It is very temperamental and cuts out frequently as well as often taking a long time to actually be able to connect.
The Internet connection is very slow, if I have to watch a film or documentary for part of my course I have to stay up until very late before it will even load, let alone buffer.
Wi-fi coverage is good and seems to be very reliable.

Mobile

Internet enabled

Have a phone with internet access

94%
84% in 2012
Sussex Mobile
83%
POSITIVE
83% USING
2012 positive: 79% use: 76%
45% iPhone
5% BlackBerry

Some comments on the Sussex Mobile phone app:

I couldn't do without the app!
A SussexMobile app for Windows Phone would be great.
Update the app to be more interactive.
I really like the app on my phone, it's a bit slow sometimes but it's very useful and has everything on it that I need.

Learning and information

Sussex Direct

Is Sussex Direct useful for finding information?

98%
POSITIVE
100% USING
2012 positive: 98% use: 100%
Study Direct

Does Study Direct support learning?

98%
POSITIVE
100% USING
2012 positive: 98% use: 100%
Laptops

Do you take a laptop or tablet to lectures?

45%
Lecture capture

Having lecture capture on at least one module

88%
78% in 2012
Sussex/Study Direct are helpful (53)
They are difficult to navigate (10)
Lecture recordings are useful (9)
Sussex/Study Direct are easy to use (8)
There should be a better link between the two (4)

There were a lot of remarks on the usefulness of both sites and the lecture recordings in particular are popular:

Study Direct and Sussex Direct are both very useful sites and are fairly easy to navigate.
Study Direct, Sussex Direct and webmail are extremely useful, particularly recorded lectures for revision.
Whilst it hasn't been used often, I appreciate the lecture recording feature on Study Direct.
Combine Sussex and Study Direct into one website
A better link between Sussex and Study direct as it was quite confusing for the first couple of weeks

Equipment

Laptop

Do you use a laptop or tablet for your studies?

97%
96% in 2012
Type

What sort of computer equipment do you use?

Windows 8 laptop
29%
10% in 2012
Windows 7 laptop
43%
66% in 2012
Mac
34%
28% in 2012
iPad
16%
10% in 2012
Games console
13%
15% in 2012
Make it easier to connect games consoles (22)

Taking laptops to lectures:

I bring my iPad to seminars in case I have to look at a document but I prefer writing notes by hand
I prefer taking notes by hand, but use my tablet for workshops
My laptop is too heavy
I love writing

See our survey page to find a more detailed analysis of the comments and information about what we are doing to address the points raised in this year's survey.

Updated on 4 February 2014