Actions resulting from the Student and Staff ... - University of Kent

Item 14: CUP/08-09/110
Actions Resulting from the
Student and Staff Satisfaction Surveys
2007/08
1. Introduction
The Student Satisfaction Survey took place in May 2008 and nearly 1,200 students responded.
The Staff Survey took place in May/June 2008 and over 330 staff responded. A very large
number of comments were given by staff and students on the provision of services and
facilities by Information Services (IS). These comments were analysed and have been used to
develop IT and library provision at Kent.
2. Student Survey
2.1 IT and Library Websites
A number of respondents to the survey commented on the IT and Library websites, in
particular referring to difficulty with navigating these sites. This is of particular concern given
that students rated the importance of the Library website and access to resources as very high.
Over the Summer Vacation 2008, the IT and Library websites have been totally redesigned
and put into the new University of Kent template. One specific suggestion from the survey
has been acted upon with a much more visible link to library borrower accounts. It is hoped
that this work has lead to significantly more accessible websites. However, work continues on
these sites to improve and extend the information available.
2.2 Access to Course Materials
A number of initiatives should address student concerns over access to core material,
including the following.
• Core Text Collection
The creation of an open access Core Text Collection, and the introduction of the new loan
periods of 3 days and a rolling 24-hour loan, answer a number of student complaints,
including those about 10am returns and faster access to core material not on 24-hour loan.
An intensive review of the new collection and loan periods will be carried out at the end
of the first year of operation in summer 2009.
• E-books
E-books were popular with survey respondents. A new policy has been introduced and all
core texts on reading lists are now investigated for e-book availability.
• Scanned material
A full scanning service has been available from the start of this academic year. Articles
and single book chapters required on reading lists are scanned and made available through
WebCT whenever requested by academics and if they are not otherwise available online.
• Book reservations
A significant number of student complaints concerned reservations, particularly that
material was returned too late to be of use. This has been addressed in a number of ways:
o The new 3-day loan period will increase circulation and shorten the time that core
material is unavailable
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o Reservations are reviewed on a daily basis. If three or more reservations have been
placed on an item, the loan period will be immediately shortened and the subject
librarian informed of the need to buy extra copies or review the loan periods.
o During library training this year, all students were encouraged to place
reservations to show the true usage of items.
2.3 Support for Laptop Users
The survey indicates that over 80% of students have laptops and it is therefore important that
on-campus provision reflects this. IS has already rolled out wireless networking across the
Canterbury and Medway campuses – in the Templeman and Drill Hall Libraries, all teaching
spaces and college social spaces on the Canterbury campus. The refurbishment of the student
PC rooms on the Canterbury campus has included the provision of laptop study spaces, with
accessible power sockets. The number of laptop study spaces, with access to power sockets,
in the Templeman Library, has been increased where possible.
This term we have introduced a laptop loan scheme, based in the Core Text Collection in the
Templeman Library, for those students who do not have a laptop or do not wish to bring their
own laptops on to campus.
2.4 Quick Access PCs
The Quick Access PCs that were introduced into the Library in 2006/07 were generally well
liked and many students asked for more to be made available. Additional Quick Access PCs
were installed in 2007/08 and IS will investigate suitable locations for the installation of
further Quick Access PCs. Concern was raised that some students do not use these PCs as was
intended and fail to log off after 10 minutes. We are investigating ways in which users of
these PCs are reminded when to log off.
2.5 Student PC Rooms
Many students complained about the poor state of the PC rooms in colleges. Information
Services is half way through a programme of refurbishing all centrally-managed student PC
rooms on the Canterbury campus. Newly refurbished rooms in Keynes, Darwin and Eliot
Colleges have already generated some very positive feedback. It is planned that the remainder
of the PC rooms will be refurbished in 2009.
We have also extended the monitoring of these rooms to ensure that the rooms remain in a
good condition. There is automatic monitoring of PCs and printers to ensure that equipment is
functioning correctly for as much time as possible. There are also physical checks of the
rooms to ensure they are kept clean and tidy. There has also been a major programme of
replacing old PCs and upgrading others over Summer 2008.
The project to improve the student PC rooms will continue throughout 2008/09 looking at all
aspects of these rooms, including signage, litter, recycling facilities and cleaning.
2.6 Printing
There were a significant number of comments on problems with printing in the Drill Hall
Library. These have been addressed over the summer and technical solutions put in place.
There was a significant drop in the number of critical comments on the printing facilities on
the Canterbury campus in the 2007/08 survey. We can assume that this is due to both the
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upgrading of printers in student PC rooms and the introduction of the utility on the PCs which
automatically selects the nearest printer.
2.7 Navigating the Library
Some students felt that the start of the Autumn Term was the wrong time to schedule library
tours. Audio tours of the Templeman Library are now available on the Library website and
MP3 players can be borrowed so that students can take tours at a time convenient to them.
The survey confirmed that many students have difficulty finding their way around the Library
and locating the materials that they require. New clear and consistent signage has been
installed throughout the Library over Summer 2008. Display screens to help students locate
free PCs were installed last year and have received much positive feedback.
2.8 Training Provision
IS runs a range of information skills and IT training sessions and they were rated highly by
those that had attended sessions. However, there was very low awareness that these sessions
were available. This will be addressed in the coming year by raising awareness and ensuring
training sessions are appropriate to student requirements.
2.9 Mobile Computing
A significant number of students indicated that they owned a smart phone or PDA and many
indicated that they would like to access University services, such as email, via these devices.
There is a project currently under way in IS to look at how these devices can be supported and
to develop appropriate services.
2.10 Communication
In the survey 43% of respondents indicated that they wished to receive information by email
and 18% by online newsletters. IS is already making more use of electronic methods to
communicate with students and will continue to extend its use.
3. Staff Survey
Staff raised many of the same issues as students, such as the IT and library websites, mobile
computing and communication. Therefore many of the actions described above apply equally
well to staff. Below are some areas that relate specifically to staff.
3.1 IT Helpdesk
There was a lot of very positive support for the service provided by the IT Helpdesk.
However, some felt that answers to enquiries were occasionally too technical or staff used too
much jargon. This issue is being addressed.
Some staff commented that support should be provided in the evening and at weekends. In
fact, staff helpdesk hours are 8am to 9pm (Monday to Friday) and 12 noon to 7pm (Saturday
and Sunday) during term time.
From their comments, it is clear that many staff are unaware that the IT Helpdesk provides
support for Apple Macs. Support is provided for connecting Macs to the University network
(including via VPN and wireless); use of email; printing and accessing network filespace.
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3.2 Email
Many staff felt that the default email quota of 100Mbytes was too low and were clearly not
aware that quotas can be increased by contacting the Helpdesk. When staff migrate to the
planned MS Exchange email service the default email quota will be 200Mbytes and it will be
possible to request increases to this default.
There were some complaints from staff about the level of spam that they receive, however,
there were far fewer complaints about spam than in previous surveys. This reflects the fact
that work over the past year has resulted in most spam being blocked at mail hubs before it
gets to staff mailboxes.
3.3 Student Training
In the staff survey there were a number of comments stressing the importance of library skills
training for their students with some suggesting that it should be compulsory. The redesign of
the library elements of Welcome Week may have addressed some of these concerns, as
training was booked and promoted by the departments themselves. It was also possible to
make the induction sessions subject specific for the first time. Comments by students
concerning the need for more advanced training for Stages 2 and 3 is also being addressed
with an increasing number of departments booking timetabled training for students on
undergraduate dissertation modules.
3.4 Book ordering
A number of staff respondents were unaware of the book ordering facility. This will hopefully
be addressed, at least for new staff, by the inclusion of book ordering procedures in the
newly-introduced library element of new staff induction.
3.5 Self issue and self return machines
These were generally very popular with both staff and students, but a number of staff raised
concerns that older barcodes do not work on the machines. Defective barcodes on active stock
are being replaced as soon as the problem occurs.
3.6 VPN
Many of those staff that have used VPN to access the University network from off campus,
commented that it is not straight forward to set up and use. IS is developing web-based access
to filestore and this will mean that most users will find it unnecessary to use VPN.
4. Conclusion
Information Services has undertaken a significant amount of work over the summer in order
to improve services and facilities for staff and students – and much of that work has been
guided by the feedback we have received in surveys and throughout the year. Clearly, we are
unable to address every issue that is raised in surveys but all feedback is given serious
consideration. Therefore, we encourage all staff and students to respond to our surveys and
when completing surveys we ask that students and staff are as specific as they can be with
comments and suggestions.
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