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Faculty and Staff Grade Computing Services

August 14, 1997

Satisfaction with computing resources on campus is high among faculty and staff, according to a recent survey.

The survey, conducted by DoIT and the Wisconsin Survey Research Lab, polled 1,000 faculty and staff to measure awareness, use and satisfaction with computing services at the university.

Ninety-one percent of faculty and 93 percent of staff were equally or more satisfied with computing resources on campus this year compared to 1996. They cited ease in getting online, a better dial-in process, updates and improvements in technology, and being more experienced as reasons for increased satisfaction.

Other findings include:

  • Ninety-five percent of faculty and 70 percent of staff said they have a home computer, compared to 94 percent of faculty and 62 percent of staff in 1996.
  • Awareness of campus computing services was up in almost every area. The areas with the highest awareness were the DoIT Help Desk by phone (80 percent), computer training workshops (76 percent) and DoIT Installation and Repair (75 percent). Awareness of WiscWorld services (email, Netscape, WiscINFO, etc.) by staff was also up in nearly every category.
  • Over the spring semester, 96 percent of faculty and 90 percent of staff reported using a computer five or more times per week. Word processing was the most popular software used, 95 percent by faculty and 94 percent by staff. Compared to last year, the most significant increases in usage were noted in Internet tools by staff (90 percent) and spreadsheet software programs by faculty (47 percent).
  • Services most-used by faculty were the DoIT Showroom (57 percent), and the Help Desk by phone (56 percent). Most-used by staff were the Help Desk (62 percent) and Installation and Repair (41 percent).
  • Staff reported spending an average of 6.01 hours per week dialed-in to the Internet through WiscWorld, up from 2.3 hours per week last year. Faculty reported spending 3.67 hours dialed in per week, up from 2.8 hours per week.
  • For importance of new or improved services, faculty rated ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networking) access from home first, followed by training in how to incorporate technology in instruction. Staff ranked more publicity on currently available services first, followed by training in software.
  • Overall, 86 percent of faculty and 85 percent of staff said the availability of computing resources on campus was good or very good.

For the complete report, see http://www.wisc.edu/doit/research/research.html. If you have questions, contact Brian Rust at (608) 263-9484 or email bgrust@facstaff.wisc.edu.