Student Survey - Winter 2016

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Survey Interpretation

Computer Lab Management (CLM) annually surveys students who use the campus computer rooms. This data may be useful in determining what computer the "average" student owns and what the campus should support.

  • Computer ownership among students remained close to universal.
  • Smartphone ownership is now close to universal (95.5%). The ownership percentage has increased dramatically each year since Winter 2011 (34.9%).
  • Laptop ownership has increased dramatically since Winter 2003 and now 89.2% of students use laptops as their primary computer. Desktop usage remains low as 7.0%.
  • Tablets are owned by almost 40% of students. This is up from 3.1% in the Winter 2011 survey. Tablets appear to be a secondary device as almost all tablet owners also own a desktop or laptop.
  • Mac ownership has grew quickly from 7.2% in Winter 2006 to 35.6% in Winter 2012. It has remained fairly consistent around 35% for the past five years.
  • Among PC users, Windows 7, 8/81 and 10 are the most commonly used operating systems with a combined usage of 57%. No other PC OS has a significant user base.
  • Mac users primarily use Mac OS X 10.11, with a substantial minority on Mac OS X 10.10.
  • Therefore, at this time it is probably safe to support just Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, Mac OS X 10.10, and Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Question 2 shows that overall students use the computer rooms for academic class-related reasons at a much higher percentage than for personal reasons.
  • Class-related printing remains the most important reasons students use the computer rooms. This is not surprising since ink-jet cartridges tend to be expensive so printing on a ink-jet printer at home is more expensive than printing in the computer rooms.
  • About one fourth of students (25.2%) have a class that meets in a computer classroom. This percentage has increased since Winter 2012, after staying at roughly 20% since we first asked the question in 1998. We have added three more computer classrooms since 2012 so it's not surprising this percentage increased.
  • Question 8 shows that the sheets required to meet a student's academic printing needs varies widely depending on the student. However, a quota of 100 sheets would meet the need of almost 80% of the students.
  • Students primarily use email to transfer files between computers. USB Flash drives and Google Drive are also used by significant numbers of students. Google Drive usage has been slowly increasing over the past few years. It still doesn't appear if news of the campus rollout of Box.com made it to students.
  • Question 9 garnered a wide variety of responses, but the most common themes are:
    • Printing received by far the most responses. There is a strong desire for free and/or cheaper printing.
    • We need to do a better job monitoring the quick access stations to give priority to academic use.
    • Many students wanted more computers/labs or longer hours
    • There were comments about several non-IET computer rooms - Earth and Physical Sciences Building, Residence Halls, etc. There appears to be a bit of confusion regarding who maintains the various computer labs on campus.

Survey Text

On March 9th, 2016 Computer Lab Management (CLM) sent the following survey 5000 students who had uses the campus computer rooms during Winter 2016.
Name (optional):
E-mail Address (optional):

1. Class Standing:

2. Why do you use the computer rooms (please check all that apply)?

I don't own a computer
I don't own a printer
I go to websites for personal reasons
I go to websites for academic reasons
I check/reply to personal email
I check/reply to class-related email
I print class assignments (e.g. essays, homework, labs)
I print class materials (e.g. research, syllabi, assignments)
I use wireless printing to print from my laptop to computer room printers
I need access to specialized software which I do not own
I need access to specialized hardware which I do not own (e.g. scanners, video editors, etc.)
The campus computers have faster access to the network (web, email, etc.)
The campus computers are more convenient than mine
The campus computers work better than mine
The campus computers have bigger monitors than my laptop
The campus printers are better than mine
I have a class that meets in a computer classroom
I need to access my student information (e.g. RSVP, grades, financial aid info, classes enrolled)
Other (please describe):

3a. What types of computers do you own? (check all that apply)

I own a desktop
I own a laptop, including convertable laptop/tablets

3b. Which of these other electronic devices do you own? (check all that apply)

I own a tablet (iPad, Android tablet, Kindle Fire, Nook HD)
I own a smartphone (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, or other phone that can check email and surf the web)
I own a black and white dedicated eReader (Kindle, Nook)

4. If you own a computer please answer the following question. If you own more than one computer, please respond for the computer you use most often.

Type:

Operating system:

Office Suite:

Printer:

Please check all the peripherals you own:
USB flash drive
Portable hard drive

5. How do you normally transfer your work from one computer to another:


If you said other, please specify how:

6. When you go to a computer room and see more than 10 people waiting in line, what do you usually do?

N/A - I haven't seen more than 10 people waiting in line
I wait in line.
I ask the Computer Room Consultant about other open computer rooms.
I go to another lab and hope there's no waiting line or a shorter one.
I come back at a later time that day.
I wait until I get home to use my computer.
I use my own laptop instead.
Other - please specify:

7A. When you go to use a computer room, how long do you typically have to wait to use a computer?

7B. What do you consider an acceptable length of time to wait to use a campus-provided computer?

8. How many sheets do you need to print each quarter for academic purposes (class material, assignments, study aids)?

9. Do you have other suggestions or comments to help improve the campus computer rooms or services?

Survey Results

There were 314 responses.

Question 1. Class Standing

  Number Percentage
First year 33 10.5%
Second year 51 16.2%
Third year 75 23.9%
Fourth year 97 30.9%
Fifth or more year 15 4.8%
Masters candidate 6 1.9%
PhD candidate 12 3.8%
Professional School 0 0%
No answer 25 8.0%

Question 2. Why do you use the computer rooms

  Number Percentage
I don't own a computer 3 1.0%
I don't own a printer 127 40.4%
I go to websites for personal reasons 27 8.6%
I go to websites for academic reasons 145 46.2%
I check/reply to personal email 57 18.2%
I check/reply to class-related email 110 35.0%
I print class assignments (e.g. essays, homework, labs) 252 80.3%
I print class materials (e.g. research, syllabi, assignments) 211 67.2%
I use wireless printing to print from my laptop to computer room printers 14 4.5%
I need access to specialized software which I do not own 68 21.7%
I need access to specialized hardware which I do not own (e.g. scanners, video editors, etc.) 57 18.2%
The campus computers have faster access to the network (web, email, etc.) 34 10.8%
The campus computers are more convenient than mine 59 18.8%
The campus computers work better than mine 18 5.7%
The campus computers have bigger monitors than my laptop 40 12.7%
The campus printers are better than mine 43 13.7%
I have a class that meets in a computer classroom 79 25.2%
I need to access my student information (e.g. RSVP, grades, financial aid info, classes enrolled) 30 9.6%
Other 16 5.1%

Other Reasons Listed:

  • Better study environment
  • It's easier than carrying around a giant craptop in my already full backpack.
  • i had left my computer at home that day
  • Gap between classes, go in to do class work
  • I enjoy studying in computer labs.
  • Allows for more focus work to be done.
  • I don't own a dekstop
  • I am TA and need to lead a class
  • It's a way to not procrastinate and actually do work.
  • It prints double-sided so it saves paper unlike my printer!!
  • I currently don't have a laptop.
  • Access to Scientific Journals
  • My laptop is heavy to carry around, especially on long school days.
  • The computer rooms are convenient when I am on campus, instead of using my own laptop at home or printing in the computer lab in the residential halls.
  • Sometimes it easier to work with to screens. (laptop and desktop)
  • Smartsite PDF's generally don't work on mobile for me
  • I've used the lab a handful of times to access Stata
  • A class required me to use a computer in the computer room
  • My laptop has limited power, the keyboards are bigger, I left my laptop at home, I want to not be distracted
  • VPN works better on campus

Question 3a. What types of computers do you own?

  Number Percentage
Desktop 35 11.1%
Laptop 305 97.1%

Question 3b. Which of these other electronic devices do you own?

  Number Percentage
Tablet 124 39.5%
Smartphone 300 95.5%
eReader 37 11.8%
Combined responses to 3a and 3b (all other combinations had zero responses):
Laptop and Smartphone 149 47.5%
Laptop, Tablet and Smartphone 88 28.0%
Laptop, Smartphone and eReader 13 4.1%
Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone and eReader 13 4.1%
Desktop, Laptop and Smartphone 12 3.8%
Desktop, Laptop, Tablet and Smartphone 9 2.9%
Laptop only 7 2.2%
Desktop, Laptop, Tablet, Smartphone and eReader 6 1.9%
Laptop and Tablet 3 1.0%
Desktop, Laptop, Smartphone and eReader 3 1.0%
Smartphone only 2 0.6%
Laptop, Tablet and eReader 2 0.6%
Desktop and Smartphone 2 0.6%
Desktop, Tablet, and Smartphone 2 0.6%
Tablet and Smartphone 1 0.3%
Desktop only 1 0.3%
Nothing 1 0.3%

Question 4.  If you own a computer please answer the following question. If you own more than one computer, please respond for the computer you use most often.

Type:

  Number Percentage
Desktop 22 7.0%
Laptop 280 89.2%
No answer 12 3.8%

Operating System:

  Number Percentage
Windows 10 96 30.6%
Windows 8/81 35 11.1%
Windows 7 48 15.3%
Windows Vista 0 0%
Windows - older version 0 0%
Windows - not sure what version 0 0%
Mac OS X 10.11 61 19.4%
Mac OS X 10.10 21 6.7%
Mac OS X 10.9 8 2.5%
Mac OS X 10.8 3 1.0%
Mac OS X 10.7 0 0%
Mac OS X - older version 1 0.3%
Mac OS X - not sure what version 23 7.3%
Linux or Unix 4 1.3%
Other 4 1.3%
No Answer 10 3.2%

Office Suite:

  Number Percentage
Microsoft Office 365 (online version) 48 15.3%
Microsoft Office 2016 (Mac/PC) 49 15.6%
Microsoft Office 2013 (PC) 71 22.6%
Microsoft Office 2011 (Mac) 44 14.0%
Microsoft Office 2010 (PC) 26 8.3%
Microsoft Office 2008 (Mac) 7 2.2%
Microsoft Office 2007 (PC) 9 2.9%
Older PC version of Microsoft Office 1 0.3%
Older Mac version of Microsoft Office 1 0.3%
Microsoft Works (PC) 0 0%
iWork (Pages, Numbers & Keynote) 10 3.2%
OpenOffice, LibreOffice, FreeOffice 7 2.2%
Google Docs 14 4.5%
Other Online Service (Zoho Docs) 0 0%
Not sure 12 3.8%
Other 1 0.3%
No answer 14 4.5%

Printer:

  Number Percentage
None 160 51.0%
Ink Jet 96 30.6%
Laser 28 8.9%
Other 7 2.2%
No answer 23 7.3%

Please check all the peripherals you own:

  Number Percentage
USB flash drive 268 85.4%
Portable hard drive 106 33.8%

Question 5. How do you normally transfer your work from one computer to another:

  Number Percentage
USB flash drive 61 19.4%
Portable hard drive 7 2.2%
Email file to yourself 154 49.0%
SmartSite 1 0.3%
Google Drive (previously Google Docs) 59 18.8%
Box.com 1 0.3%
Microsoft OneDrive 9 2.9%
iCloud 0 0%
Dropbox 13 4.1%
Other Internet or cloud based file storage 1 0.3%
FTP, sftp or other file transfer program 1 0.3%
Other 2 0.6%
No answer 6 1.9%

Other Reasons Listed:

  • I attach my essay to an email that I send to myself
  • Email to myself but if file is too big, I upload to Google Drive
  • I use a combination of emailing to myself, usb flash drive, and google drive
  • +Google Docs
  • or flashdrive

Question 6. When you go to a computer room and see more than 10 people waiting in line, what do you usually do?

  Number Percentage
N/A - I haven't seen more than 10 people waiting in line 195 62.1%
I wait in line 32 10.2%
I ask the CRC about other open computer rooms. 4 1.3%
I go to another lab and hope there's no waiting line or a shorter one. 29 9.2%
I come back at a later time that day. 19 6.1%
I wait until I get home to use my computer. 7 2.2%
I use my own laptop instead. 19 6.1%
Other 4 1.3%
No answer 5 1.6%

Other Actions Listed:

  • I go do other homework/work
  • I access remotely and if there are no computers available I try again later in the day
  • I've only used the virtual lab or a lab as part of class.
  • Leave

Question 7A. When you go to use a computer room, how long do you typically have to wait to use a computer?

  Number Percentage
Not at all 192 61.1%
Less than 5 minutes 82 26.1%
5 to 10 minutes 15 4.8%
10 to 15 minutes 5 1.6%
15 to 30 minutes 5 1.6%
Over 30 minutes 5 1.6%
No answer 10 3.2%

Question 7B. What do you consider an acceptable length of time to wait to use a campus-provided computer?

  Number Percentage
No wait at all 41 13.1%
Less than 5 minutes 155 49.4%
5 to 10 minutes 91 29.0%
10 to 15 minutes 17 5.4%
15 to 30 minutes 1 0.3%
Over 30 minutes 2 0.6%
No answer 7 2.2%

Question 8. How many sheets do you need to print each quarter for academic purposes (class material, assignments, study aids)?

  Number Percentage
Less than 25 sheets 111 35.4%
26 to 50 sheets 74 23.6%
51 to 75 sheets 32 10.2%
76 to 100 sheets 33 10.5%
101 to 150 sheets 18 5.7%
150 to 200 sheets 23 7.3%
Over 200 sheets 17 5.4%
No answer 6 1.9%

Question 9. Do you have other suggestions or comments to help improve the campus computer rooms or services?

  • keep up the good work!
  • Make Open access computer rooms more publicized. It's a great resource and I think many students don't know how great these places are.
  • Make it free for freshman at least!
  • Every thing is good.
  • The staff are usually very helpful. The process is very easy; I have had no problems trying to use the computer rooms.
  • I love the computer labs! Wish we would have had them sooner!!!!
  • It would be great to know which computers have certain software. For example, the only computer room I know of with computers with Stata on them are those in the SCC. Also I think that all students should have X amount of pages they print free of charge, just as first-years do in the residence halls.
  • Free 75 prints for students. That's only 8.25... Common UCDavis
  • Add more work, reading, or sit in areas in computer rooms
  • You should put AdBlock on all of them. I install it on every campus computer I find that doesn't have it. Ads are very annoying. Sometimes the computers just don't work because they're weird and old. It would be nice to be able to email someone to ask them to fix it.
  • None
  • Probably update to the newest OS, but not necessarily.
  • To lower the price of printing per page for the colored printing
  • PROVIDE FREE ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE FOR STUDENT'S PERSONAL COMPUTERS. It'll seriously reduce stress as well as maintain network security. Additionally, advertise the UCD cloud service so that more students can utilize this extremely valuable and helpful resource. Maybe have the students who use campus computers automatically sync the files they save on the desktop to their UCD cloud service account.
  • None
  • I would suggest offering a refund policy for when other computer room users accidentally walk away with your printed materials. This has happened to me on more than one occasion, where I printed something (and was charged for it) but the materials were taken from the printer mistakenly by another student.
  • More computers with desks
  • we need adobe after effects on more computers
  • If its possible to print wirelessly from our laptops it would be great to notify students. It would save a lot more time for some students.
  • It would be great if the computer room has staplers
  • I find the SCC computer lab location to be incredibly convenient and pleasant to use.
  • The rooms should have more color so it doesn't feel so depressing to be there.
  • N/A
  • Lowering the price of color printing.
  • More than one stapler in each lab.
  • Remain open for a longer time. Allow for more air ventilation because printers fume can be harmful to health.
  • Fix the color printers
  • Have a small number of spare chairs for the bigger tables (like the ones the Macs are placed on in the SCC) so that people can share computers instead of them using two computers.
  • No
  • Reduce the price of printing. Open a computer lab at Memorial Union. Please.. Please... Please... Place a wireless printer at the 24 study room! Thank you!
  • Perhaps set a time limit on sit-on computers during midterm weeks/finals? 2-hour sessions?
  • I think that UC Davis should make printing free for students. You can at least let us print maximum 100 sheets per quarter and then start to charge .11 cents per page printed after that. We already pay a lot for our tuition so why not give us that option. Why is it that freshmen are allowed 250 "free" prints included in their tuition when almost none of those students reach that quota regardless. We're paying our tuition as UC Davis students, so we should also be allowed to have at least 100 "free" prints if not more.
  • The staff is usually pretty friendly, so good job on that!
  • Trade in percentage of free black and white prints for a couple color prints
  • Chairs in the Olson room, maybe?
  • Please have more computer labs with sit down stations. They fill up fast and I'm stuck on campus all day (I live in another city) without a laptop and I usually have a lot of work to do so the standing stations with a 10-minute limit are no good.
  • Download Image J on more computers and other open source programs like R.
  • I think being able to save account passwords on an individual's Kerberos login that the use to gain access to the computers. As in once I login to the computer I would like to be able to access my smartsite or other Davis accounts without having to retype my Kerberos login again. Maybe a smartsite and/or email apps for quick access to these services
  • N/A
  • Better printers. Some are losing ink!
  • Have a longer open time on Friday night and Weekends.
  • I detest the MAC interface. I wish that there was an option to use non-MAC products in the computer labs. I am a student at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. It was difficult for me to take my hybrid UWP class because the graduate students at the Nursing and Medical school don't have ready access to the one drive that all of the undergraduates and schools at the main Davis campus do. This made taking my class much more difficult than necessary!
  • It should be easier to connect your laptop to the printers there so i don't have to log on to the computers there and waste time.
  • Small annoyance at moving from scanner designated computers to others in the middle of working (I didn't know they were the only ones with scanners). Other than that, solid stuff.
  • Give more free printing. It's a shame other incorporations that house people give more free printing than the school, but make way less income than the school.
  • Fix the stapler in the library. Otherwise the computer rooms are good.
  • More wireless access printer, right now they're all in central campus- what about in the outskirts of campus??!? (ie health science library, biomed building, mondavi buildings)
  • Wireless printing always gives me issues.
  • It might have just been my computer, but I couldn't wirelessly print to the color printers.
  • Q7B -- was hard to answer because I think it depends. If I just want to check email I don't want to wait very long. But if I'm going to plop myself down to do work then I'm willing to wait longer. Perhaps a reservation system might work nicely? So you have reserved computers and computers that can be used in 15 minute increments. The reserved computers are inventoried online so that students can reserve for a specific work period and when they show, no wait time!
  • It would be great have one networked computer/printer for each department, so graduate students could print necessary papers/materials/manuscripts close to their offices. The current computing system seems to work well for undergraduates, but not graduate students. My department doesn't want to provide free printing, which I understand, so having a networked printer in the department would allow us to pay for our own printing without having to trek across campus to one of the computer labs.
  • It would be nice if there was a place on campus for bulk printing. Most places have a 10 sheet limit which is exceeded pretty easily if you have to print slides or articles.
  • You guys are doing great!
  • Some of the computers are always out of service. What is going on?
  • Larger computer lab in the Library and more computers in general.
  • They have always been really helpful!
  • It took way to long to fix the undergrad printer in the Earth and Physical Sciences Building. Like waaaaaaay to long.
  • It may be that I am unobservant, but the mac computers don't have a usb, and since I usually use usb, I have to wait for a PC to open up to do any of my work.
  • The Olson printers have been lagging.
  • Keep up the great work! :)
  • It's been a good experience for me overall. I probably don't see many people in line because I generally go in the morning; I'm not sure what it's like during the afternoons. One thing I'm very happy about is the 30 free sheets we're allowed to print. It's not like the university does this out of the goodness of their education-loving hearts, but it's nice to be able to print when I have to. Thanks to the IT people too; they know how to get around different versions of Excel. My friend has a Mac and gets confused whenever we go in to use Excel on Windows.
  • Nope :)
  • Please replace the black keyboards. They are hard to type with as you have to use a lot of strength to press one and get stuck easily.
  • Open up computer labs such as the Segundo Service Center upstairs computer/printing room to ALL students with valid ID as opposed to restricting it to only freshmen in the dorms. Obviously freshman would have priority but this would be a great place to print things out on the way to class for upper classmen as well
  • N/A
  • Disinfectant wipes available to sanitize keyboards and mice.
  • recently, over half of the computer located in the Segundo computer center do not work at all, can you guys fix those computer because people could not find a computer to print their class materials out.
  • I really appreciate the help I have received from the tech support with printing my documents
  • more free sheets since we pay lots of tuition. at least 50 sheets. 30 is not enough at all
  • Can the number prints that are waived be increased?

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