2007 CSOM IT - Student Survey Results


Executive Summary


Background

The purpose of the Carlson School of Management Department of Information Technology Student Survey was to gather relevant information from Carlson School students regarding available information technology services and support. In general, Carlson School IT wished to explore some overarching questions through the survey tool, such as to what extent IT services or support valued, to what extent IT services or support perform in those valued areas, and to listen for any “gaps” in technology services and support.


Context


The survey was conducted in November, in a semester that included many technology changes. These included:

  • The strike at the beginning of the semester, which resulted in 60% of the full-time Help Desk staff being absent. New student workers were not yet trained at this time. 
  • The pilot year of the Undergraduate laptop program. 
  • The move to new network management software, resulting in new procedures for wireless printing, lab access, and network storage. 
  • The move to University e-mail and calendar programs away from the previous system, which impacted returning MBA students. 
  • IT staff attrition and structural reorganization.


Student Populations


Carlson School has a wide variety of student populations and the survey reflected some of the differences in its results. When questioned about desired services, part-time graduate students placed high value on group collaboration software, online meeting software, and podcasts and/or videocasts of lectures and visiting speakers. Full-time students placed great value on an integrated email-calendar system. Students who have Carlson School supported laptops visit the Help Desk for laptop service and have different experiences with Help Desk personnel than students who request other kinds of services. In general, all groups were satisfied with the classroom technology and valued the availability of course materials online, The Edge, and break-out room reservations. We have provided links to the survey responses, as well as graphs to show differences in response for some questions based upon student populations.


Comments


When students provided additional details, some themes emerged. Wireless connectivity was a concern, as was wireless printing. Students desired integration between systems such as The Edge, email, and calendar. There is inconsistent use of technology by faculty. Training offerings must remain current and additional after-hours sessions were desired. Website navigation needs improvement as students feel that information is difficult to find, perhaps indicating a desire for an internal Intranet site for students. A consistent customer service experience is desired from the Help Desk. These comments will be used for further study with focus groups. However, the additional comments were not necessarily consistent with the overall results.


Looking Forward


The Carlson School IT department appreciates the feedback and takes the results very seriously. As such the IT Department will explore the following:

  • Offer consistent customer service in the IT Help Desk 
  • Continue to investigate the inconsistencies of Wireless Printing 
  • Pilot new wireless infrastructure and management in Fall of 2008 
  • How to improve IT offerings to PTMBA students 
  • Identify communication improvements and preferences for all student populations 
  • Determine how to foster consistent course management use to benefit the students 
  • Explore collaboration software to foster group work 
  • Look at developing an Intranet for students as a home portal


We will conduct focus groups; meet with Program offices and other IT groups across the University which will help determine prioritization. Thank you to everyone who participated— we are looking forward to continuous improvements to assist in your academic careers.