STUDENT LAPTOP, COMPUTER LAB, AND SOFTWARE USAGE€¦ · Student Laptop, Lab, and Software Usage Report| 2 01 – Executive Summary Technology on Campus Students have an overall average

Student Laptop, Lab, and Software Usage Report| 0

Fall 2018 | BYOD Taskforce Student Report

STUDENT LAPTOP, COMPUTER LAB, AND SOFTWARE USAGE

The Office of Strategy Management and Institutional Effectiveness


STUDY OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION The Office of the Provost created a taskforce entrusted with supporting students with their software

requirements through providing access on an anytime, anywhere basis. To this effect, a survey has been sent

to all current AUC students, with the main objective of ensuring that the university adequately meets AUC

student body needs with regards to technology and software. The survey addressed student laptop and

computer lab usage as well as evaluations about their experience with technology on campus.

METHODOLOGY This survey was designed and conducted by the Office of Strategy Management and Institutional

Effectiveness (SMIE), in coordination with the Office of the Provost. SMIE emailed 6,167 members of the AUC

student body on January 15, 2019, followed by two weekly reminders on the 21st of January and the 28th of

January to those who had not yet responded to the survey. One final reminder was sent a day before the

survey was closed on the 31st, yielding a total response rate of 14.7%. Findings from this achieved sample size

can be applicable to the total intended population with a ±3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.

REPORT STRUCTURE This report is divided into the following sections:

01 – Executive Summary A brief summary of the main take-away messages and evaluations in this report as a quick preview of

the data, which goes into greater detail in the subsequent sections.

02 – Analysis of Findings Divided into the following sub-sections:

2.1 Administrative Data and Classification An overview of total invitations, completions, and response rates by student group, as well as a

breakdown of completions per group.

2.2 Laptop Usage A presentation of personal and library laptop usage and perception.

2.3 Campus Wi-Fi Experience An evaluation of the current Wi-Fi experience on campus.

2.4 Computer Lab Usage A presentation of important features for computer labs as well as frequency of usage.

2.5 Software Usage A listing of the commonly used software by students, including any difficulty they face in accessing

them.

03 – Appendix


01 – Executive Summary Technology on Campus Students have an overall average experience with technology on campus, where positive factors such as ease of

login and reliability of access in the library are offset by network performance and access to Wi-Fi in outdoor

spaces. This is driven mostly by graduate students, who have a more significantly positive experience (19% of

graduate students rated excellent vs 12% among undergraduate students, whereas the rating for network

performance among undergraduates is 3.34 vs 3.74 among graduates).

The library is expectedly rated the most reliable for network access, while students struggle with outdoor spaces.

Poorer ratings continue to be driven by undergraduates.

Software Students across all schools and continue to share several generic software that are relevant to student life such as

Adobe Reader and Acrobat, Microsoft Office and GSuite tools. Still, the largest group (around 30%) of reported

software involves engineering or modeling functions (such as AutoDesk solutions), followed by programming tools

and IDEs at ~25% (such as Visual Studio).

Undergraduates face a significantly more difficult time accessing required software, where 25% of undergraduates

report having trouble accessing software “always or most of the time” as opposed to 14% among graduate

students. This is likely due to the more extensive and wider range of software needs among undergraduates, who

may work with more than one specialized software depending on courses they take.

Work/Study Space The AUC student body seem to agree about top factors for an adequate work/study space, namely a comfortable

and calm space, (86% and 81% respectively) that is fully equipped with network and power sources (85%) for the

best productivity, in addition to adequate lighting (81%). No significant differences are seen between student

groups, despite graduate students reporting a higher preference for quiet environment.

Library Awareness of laptop lending at the library is very low among students who do not own personal laptops, and most

have not made use of this service. Most find library PCs to be sufficient for their work or alternatively use

computer labs. Still, a comparable number of mentions stated that laptops borrowed were poorly performing.

Computer Labs Undergraduates use computer labs significantly more frequently than graduate students, 68% use labs at least

once a month compared to 55% for graduate students.

Personal Laptops Almost all students expectedly own a personal laptop that they regularly use on campus – a third bring their

laptops to campus daily, with a 75% majority bringing it at least once a week. Nevertheless, weight of device is

reportedly a main challenge for students (75% of responses), as well as concerns on charging and storage (44%

each). Some students are encumbered by carrying laptops around campus, as lockers at the library have reportedly

been removed.

The student body relies heavily on laptops to get their work done, and maintain the importance of using them in

continued learning improvement, technological advancement and employment opportunities. This is specifically

driven by graduates, who reported significantly stronger agreement than undergraduates that laptops help them

learn better (69% vs 55%) and communicate better (56% vs 37%).

Recommendations Work on providing appropriate number of licenses needed for undergraduate students to use software on

their personal laptops. o Consider expanding on the capacity of computer labs where personal licensing is not possible to

allow for comfortable computer lab usage. Work on enhancing campus network performance during peak usage and specifically in outdoor spaces. Raise awareness of the services provided by the University to support students’ technological needs.


Undergraduate, 86%

Graduate, 14%

Respondents from the Student Bodyn=905

905 775127

6167

5207

84214.7% 14.9% 15.1%

TOTAL Undergraduate Graduate

Completed Surveys Total Invitations Response Rate

02 – Analysis of Findings

2.1 Administrative Data and Classification Student Classification Most responses were received from undergraduate students, who represent the largest group of the

student body.

Response Rate While response rates appear slightly low, the overall achieved sample size is quite adequate for the

purposes of decision making, applicable to the population with a ±3% – 4% margin of error for both

undergraduates and graduates for most information areas. Special degrees were targeted, with only

three responses and as such their responses are only represented in the aggregated data.


2.2 Laptop Usage Personal Laptops Results indicate that almost all students own a personal laptop.

Usage Habits and Perceptions Both undergraduate and graduate students rely heavily on their personal laptops, using them daily for

internet access. While at an overall level, email usage is significantly lower than other internet uses.

Graduate students report a significantly higher use for email everyday than undergraduates (averages

3.88 vs 3.54, respectively).

Students also find that using their laptops helps them learn better, as they are able to enhance their

technological skills, which they feel directly contributes to improved employment chances. This is

specifically driven by graduates, who reported significantly stronger agreement than undergraduates

that laptops help them learn better (69% vs 55%) and communicate better (56% vs 37%).

Although at an overall level, students do not appear to prefer taking exams using their laptops, graduate

students show a significantly higher preference (32% strongly agree vs 23% among undergraduates).

96%

94%

Undergraduaten=774

Graduaten=129

by Student Level

96%

Own Laptopn=905

83%

55%

75%

9%

24%

14%

8%22%

12%4.29

3.58

4.07

I use my laptop everydayn=793

I use my laptop for e-mail everydayn=796

I use my laptop for Internet searcheseveryday

n=795

Agreement with Statements on Laptop Usage Habits

Strongly agree + Agree Neutral Disagree + Strongly disagree Average


Personal Laptops on Campus Around three-quarters of sampled AUC student body bring their laptops to campus at least once a week,

with around a third doing so daily.

The main challenge students reported facing in bringing their laptops to campus is the weight of their

device. Secondary challenges include power outlets, storage and security of the laptop.1

1 For the full list, please refer to the Appendix.

87%

45%86% 71% 69%

9%

14%

20% 23% 25%

3%26%

2% 6% 6%4.41

3.36

4.364.06

4.01

My laptop helps me learnbettern=798

I prefer to take examswhere I can use my laptop

during the examn=795

I believe that my laptophelps me increase my

technology skillsn=796

I believe that using laptopsin my studies will help mefind a job when I graduate

n=795

My laptop helps mecommunicate with others

bettern=796

Agreement with Statements on Laptop Benefits

Strongly agree + Agree Neutral Disagree + Strongly disagree Average

33%

33%

32%

31%

30%

34%

12%

12%

13%

7%

7%

5%

4%

4%

1%

8%

8%

9%

5%

5%

6%

Totaln=784

Undergraduatesn=671

Graduatesn=112

Frequency of Bringing Personal Laptops to Campus

Daily 2-4 days a week Once a week Once every other week Once a month Less frequently Never

76% Weight of device

44% Power outlets

/ charging 44% Storage 32% Security 25% Campus connectivity

& Internet speed


46%Aware of LibraryLending Laptops

n=39

Library Laptops Among the few students who have not reported owning a personal laptop, only about half are aware

that the library has laptops for borrowing. Among those, only two students have actually borrowed a

laptop from the library. Students mostly use regular PCs in the library, finding no real need to borrow a

laptop, or they have borrowed laptops of low performance.

Yes, 11% No, 89%

Borrowed Laptop from Libraryn=18

7 Use Library PCs / Do

not need to borrow

n=16

Reasons for not Borrowing Laptops by Frequency of Statements

5 Low performance of

laptops

4 Restrictions on

usage

4 Restrictions on

duration

2 Restrictions on location

(outside library)


3.5

2.49

3.25

3.5

3.88

1 2 3 4 5

Average Rating for Reliability of Access to Wi-Fi in..

3.41

3.83

1 2 3 4 5

Average Rating for Experiences with Wireless Networks on Campus

2.3 Campus Wi-Fi Experience Members of the AUC student body have an overall somewhat average experience2 with technology on

campus, where positive factors such as ease of login and reliability of access in the library are offset by

network performance and access to Wi-Fi in outdoor spaces. This driven mostly by graduate students,

who have a more significantly positive experience (19% rated excellent vs 12% among undergraduates).

While login is reportedly easy to access, students find a more difficult time regarding network

performance, with significantly poorer ratings among undergraduates (3.34 vs 3.74 among graduates).

As for reliability of access, connectivity in the library is reported to be the highest, whereas students

struggle in outdoor spaces. Graduates have a significantly more positive experience with access to Wi-Fi

in all spaces.

2 Questions rated on a scale from 1 – 5: 5-Excellent, 4-Good, 3-Neutral, 2-Fair, 1-Poor, with an option for NA.

Ease of login to Wi-Fi networks provided n=799

Network performance (speed, interruptions, etc)

n=798

Campus library n=796

Classroom / instructional spaces n=797

Other indoor public spaces n=796

Outdoor spaces n=794

Student housing n=789

3.63

3.94

Undergraduaten=674

Graduaten=119

by Student Level

3.64

Overall Technology Experience at AUC - Average Score

n=794


2.4 Computer Lab Usage Important Features of a Work/Study Space Students agree on the importance of several factors3 for an adequate work/study space, the top of

which contribute to a comfortable and calm space that is fully equipped for the best productivity. No

significant differences are seen between student levels, although graduate students report a skewed

preference for quiet environment.

3 For the full list, please refer to the Appendix.

85% Network

and power

81% Quiet

environment

87%

81%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

84%

85%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

79%

91%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

81% Adequate

lighting

64%

73%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

86% Comfortable

seating


Frequency of Computer Lab Usage Undergraduates use computer labs significantly more frequently than graduate students, 68% use labs

at least once a month compared to 55% for graduate students.

62% Space to

spread out

63%

55%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

59% Privacy

58%

66%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

50% Adequate

ventilation

48%

60%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

27%

22%

Undergraduaten=632

Graduaten=116

by Student Level

26% Social

atmosphere

11%

11%

15%

25%

26%

16%

15%

16%

11%

10%

10%

8%

5%

5%

5%

18%

17%

23%

16%

15%

22%

Totaln=755

Undergraduatesn=637

Graduatesn=117

Frequency of Using Computer Labs

Daily 2-4 days a week Once a week Once every other week Once a month Less frequently Never


2.5 Software Usage Commonly Used Software There are more than 100 programs4 and software used by the student body, around a third of which are

used for engineering/modeling, a quarter for programming, and a fifth for multimedia. Adobe

represents more than 80% of all reported software used by the student body, led by Reader, Acrobat,

and Photoshop, while Auto-Desk represents around 42%, led by AutoCad.

Although the majority of software are reported by undergraduates, graduate students report a

significantly higher use for statistical analysis software such as RStudio (8% vs 3% for undergrads) and

SPSS (11% vs 4% for undergrads).

4 For a full list, refer to the Appendix

Multimedia / Creativity

50%

Adobe Reader

42%

Adobe Acrobat

37%

Adobe Photoshop

21%

Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Premier

Pro

14%

Adobe InDesign

13%

n=667

Audacity

12% 10%

Final Cut Pro

Programming / Engineering / Modeling

28%

Microsoft

Visual Studio AutoCad

26%

Matlab

18%

Sketchup

10%

Revit

9%

3D-Max

7%

n=667


Top Software per School Students were also asked to select the top three software out of the list of their choices.5 Top software

remain quite generic regardless of school, such as Adobe Reader and Acrobat.

SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING (SSE)

(n=273) With several majors represented, top used software is quite fragmented, with around 28% of students

reporting close to 70 different types of software.

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES (HUSS)

(n=66)

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS (BUS)

(n=55)

SCHOOL OF GLOBAL AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC POLICY (GAPP)

(n=50)

UNDECLARED

(n=168)

5 For a full list of reported software used, please refer to the Appendix.

34%

Adobe Reader

33%

Microsoft

Visual Studio Matlab

26%

48%

Adobe Reader

30%

Adobe Acrobat

36%

Adobe Reader

29%

Adobe Acrobat

29%

Adobe Photoshop

30%

Adobe Reader

26%

Adobe Illustrator

37%

Adobe Reader

17%

Adobe Acrobat

29%

Adobe Photoshop

27%

Adobe Illustrator

36%

Adobe Photoshop


Difficulty of Access Undergraduate students seem to have significantly more difficulty accessing software compared to their

graduate counterparts. This is expected given the diversified software needs between groups, where

undergraduates have more software needs.

6%

6%

5%

17%

19%

9%

42%

43%

38%

26%

24%

35%

9%

9%

12%

Totaln=743

Undergraduatesn=626

Graduatesn=116

Difficulty of Access to Needed Software

Always Most of the time Sometimes Rarely Never


03 – Appendix A- Demographics of Represented Sample Gender Citizenship

School

Major

38% 40%29%

33%38%

10%8%

20%

10%10%

9%

7% 4%

28%

2%12%

Total(n=911)

Undergraduate(n=780)

Graduate(n=128)

Science and Engineering Undeclared Humanities and Social SciencesSchool of Business Global Affairs & Public Policy Graduate School of Education

School of Graduate Studies

43% 43% 41%

57% 57% 59%

Total(n=911)

Undergraduate(n=780)

Graduate(n=128)

Female Male

33%7%

6%

5%

5%

4%

4%

3%

3%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%19%

Undeclared

MENG

CE

BADM

CENG

EENG

CS

Poli Sci

AENG

ECON

ACTS

PENG

IMC

PSYCH

PHYS

CHEM

Other

Egypt, 84%

USA, 5%

Nigeria, 2%

Yemen, 2%Syria, 2% China, 2%Other, 4%


B- Software Used Serial Function Corporation Software Count Percentage

1 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Reader 334 50% 2 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Acrobat 281 42% 3 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Photoshop 245 37% 4 Programming Microsoft Visual Studio 185 28% 5 Engineering/Modeling AutoDesk AutoCad 174 26% 6 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Illustrator 141 21% 7 Programming MathWorks Matlab 120 18% 8 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Premier Pro 93 14% 9 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe InDesign 89 13%

10 Multimedia/creativity Audacity Audacity 80 12% 11 Multimedia/creativity Apple Final Cut 68 10% 12 Engineering/Modeling Trimble Sketchup 67 10% 13 Engineering/Modeling AutoDesk Revit 59 9% 14 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe InDesign CS6 51 8% 15 Database Apple Filemaker 47 7% 16 Engineering/Modeling AutoDesk 3D-Max 44 7% 17 Productivity/Cloud Microsoft Microsoft Office 41 6%

18 Data/Statistics IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 Service

36 5%

19 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Adobe Audition CC 31 5% 20 Multimedia/creativity Avid Pro Tools 30 4% 21 Engineering/Modeling Other Rhino for Windows 31 5% 22 Project Management Oracle Primavera 30 4% 23 Data/Statistics Minitab Minitab 24 4% 24 Engineering/Modeling Dassault SolidWorks 24 4% 25 Engineering/Modeling CSI SAP2000 24 4% 26 Programming R Rstudio 23 3% 27 Data/Statistics STATA STATA 20 3% 28 Engineering/Modeling Siemens Mentor Graphic Tools 17 3% 29 Productivity/Cloud Microsoft Word 13 2% 30 Analytics Tableau Tableau-WIX 12 2% 31 Engineering/Modeling CSI ETABS 11 2% 32 Multimedia/creativity Avid Avid Video Engine 10 1% 33 Multimedia/creativity Avid Application Manager 9 1% 34 Engineering/Modeling ANSYS Ansys 9 1% 35 Engineering/Modeling CSI Safe 2016 9 1% 36 ERP Microsoft Dynamix AX 8 1% 37 Programming Apple X-Code 8 1% 38 Engineering/Modeling Dassault Abaqus 7 1% 39 Engineering/Modeling MITCalc MITcalc 6 1% 40 Productivity/Cloud Microsoft Excel 7 1% 41 Productivity/Cloud Microsoft PowerPoint 7 1% 42 Data/Statistics IHS Markit Eviews 5 1% 43 Engineering/Modeling MSC Adams 5 1% 44 Other Other Consent 4 1% 45 Engineering/Modeling Other Arduino 4 1% 46 Programming Apache Netbeans 4 1% 47 Programming Other Code::blocks 4 1% 48 Engineering/Modeling Lumion Lumion 4 1% 49 Productivity/Cloud Apple Keynote 3 0% 50 Programming Google Android Studio 3 0%


51 Multimedia/creativity Apple iMovie 3 0% 52 Engineering/Modeling Dassault Catia 3 0% 53 Data/Statistics Wolfram Mathematica 3 0% 54 Multimedia/creativity Adobe After Effects 3 0% 55 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Media Encoder 2 0% 56 Productivity/Cloud Gsuite Google Chrome 2 0%

57 Multimedia/creativity Black Magic Design

Davinci Resolve 2 0%

58 Engineering/Modeling Cadence Cadence 2 0% 59 Productivity/Cloud Apple Pages 2 0% 60 Programming MIT Spyder 2 0% 61 Engineering/Modeling Other Gaussian 09W 2 0% 62 Engineering/Modeling Soft Xpansion Mdesign 2 0% 63 Engineering/Modeling Xilinx Vivado 2 0% 64 Programming Python Python 2 0% 65 Programming Microsoft Visual Code 2 0% 66 Engineering/Modeling Xilinx Xilinx ISE 2 0% 67 Programming Microsoft Visual Studio 1 0% 68 Data/Statistics Microsoft Access 1 0% 69 Productivity/Cloud Gsuite Google Drive 1 0% 70 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Illustrator 1 0% 71 Multimedia/creativity Adobe Animate 1 0% 72 Engineering/Modeling AutoDesk Fusion 360 1 0% 73 Reference/Education GMU Zotero 1 0% 74 Productivity/Cloud Other Teamviewer 1 0% 75 Reference/Education Other Ultimate speed reader 1 0%

76 Engineering/Modeling National Instruments

Multisim 1 0%

77 Engineering/Modeling Other Climate Consultant 1 0% 78 Engineering/Modeling Chaos Group Vray 1 0% 79 Engineering/Modeling Other Slicer 1 0% 80 Engineering/Modeling Other GaussView 5.0 1 0% 81 Game Development Other Unreal Engine 4 1 0% 82 Programming JetBrains Pycharm 1 0% 83 Engineering/Modeling Other WaterCAD 1 0% 84 Other Other Postman 1 0% 85 Programming Other Spring Boot STS 1 0% 86 Other Oracle VirtualBox 1 0% 87 Productivity/Cloud Apple Numbers 1 0% 88 Productivity/Cloud Figma Figma 1 0% 89 Web development Oracle Java 1 0% 90 Engineering/Modeling AutoDesk Maya 1 0% 91 Programming Other icode 1 0% 92 ERP Sage Group Sage300 1 0% 93 Programming Other Notepad++ 1 0% 94 Programming Other gnu GDB 1 0% 95 Programming Other gnu compiler 1 0% 96 Engineering/Modeling MathWorks Simulink 1 0% 97 Programming Valgrind valgrind 1 0% 98 Programming Cygnus Cygwin 1 0% 99 Programming Unicom Purify 1 0%

100 Programming Other gProf 1 0% 101 Programming Synopsys Coverity 1 0% 102 Programming Other QA C++ 1 0%


103 Programming Other POSIX Threads 1 0% 104 Programming Other OpenMPGNU Binutils 1 0%

105 Productivity/Cloud Other Text Audio Reader (ReadAloud)

1 0%

106 Programming JetBrains PhpStorm 1 0% 107 Multimedia/creativity Other SonyVegas 1 0% 108 Multimedia/creativity Other Fruityloops 1 0% 109 Source Code Editor ADobe Brackets (html css) 1 0% 110 Engineering/Modeling Other Rhino for Mac 1 0% 111 Engineering/Modeling Lumerical Lumerical 1 0% 112 Data/Statistics Wolfram Wolfram alpha 1 0% 113 Programming JetBrains Webstorm 1 0% 114 Engineering/Modeling Schlumberger Interactive Petrophysics 1 0% 115 Engineering/Modeling Schlumberger PipeSim 1 0% 116 Engineering/Modeling Maxon Cinema 4D 1 0% 117 Multimedia/creativity NCH Videopad 1 0% 118 Programming Anaconda Anaconda 1 0% 119 Programming Other Jupyter 1 0% 120 Game Development Other Unity 1 0% 121 Database Microsoft SQL server 1 0%

122 Engineering/Modeling National Instruments

Labview 1 0%

123 Engineering/Modeling PerkinElmer Chem Office 1 0% 124 Multimedia/creativity Other zBrush 1 0% 125 Programming Other Several IDEs 1 0% 126 Engineering/Modeling Esri ArcGIS 1 0% 127 Engineering/Modeling Other IDRISI 1 0% 128 Multimedia/creativity PreSonus Studio One 1 0% 129 Multimedia/creativity Ableton Ableton 1 0% 130 Programming Eclipse Eclipse 1 0%

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STUDENT LAPTOP, COMPUTER LAB, AND SOFTWARE USAGE€¦ · Student Laptop, Lab, and Software Usage Report| 2 01 – Executive Summary Technology on Campus Students have an overall average