Technology Survey

Technology Survey
by Lori Briggs

The Student Technology Enhancement program (STEP) at UL is constantly seeking to improve students' experience with technology around campus, which includes smart classrooms, open-use labs, internet, and printing services.

A survey was recently conducted to gauge students' satisfaction with these technology features on campus, and a random sample of 102 undergraduate and graduate students was chosen to answer a few questions about their experience. This random sample was chosen by simply going around campus and giving the survey on a digital tablet to random students who had free time. The students surveyed ranged from 18 to over 24 years old, with the majority of students, about 46%, being between 18 and 20 years old.

The majority of the students said that they are satisfied with the printing services on campus, with only about eight percent of students said that they got frustrated printing their documents from time to time. Almost 50 percent of students said that they were satisfied with the current internet accessibility and speed. About 25 percent said that they didn’t use the internet on campus enough to have an opinion about it, indicating that they didn't spend much time on campus or didn't have a lot to do online on campus.

When it came to open-use labs, most students said they were pleased with them, with only nine percent having a complaint about them. When asked about their satisfaction with technology in classrooms (computers, printers, and projectors, for example), a significant majority of students reported that they were pleased with the conditions.

About 25 percent of all students surveyed indicated that they were either not aware of the availability of this technology on campus or did not make use of it too often. The STEP lab endeavors to raise awareness of technological resources for students in the future.