Computer Information System

Assessment Day 2006

Concerns:

From the assessment day 06 survey results students appear to be satisfied with the quality of the laptop that is provided and the software that comes with the laptops (75.1% agreement for quality and 79.5% agreement for software). Laptop support and maintenance satisfaction levels were at 80.7% . 67.5% of the students agreed or strongly agree that the laptop program appears to have value and they reported that the laptop does contribute to their academic success (83.3% agreement).
Students did express concern on the survey with the cost of the laptop program. Some dissatisfaction was noted regarding the policies of the laptop program.
Comments from the survey indicated that students want instructors to use the laptop more for class related purposes. Additional comments indicated that students really like the laptop buyout program upon graduation, but some students responded to the survey appeared to have no knowledge of the laptop buyout option upon graduation.

For laptop usage statistics, students reported the number of hours per day that they use their laptop computers and the mean was approximately 6.6 hours per day. This level of usage was slightly higher than the previous year assessment survey. Students reported using the laptops most for e-mail, class research, presentations in class, and completion of projects for class. Students use the laptops less frequently for Web page development, and threaded class discussions.

Improvements:

The laptop program appears to be very important for students in their academic success. We are working hard to continue to provide students with a quality laptop package that includes software and support. We strive to provide a package each year that is better than the previous year. From the survey it appears that laptop quality and performance and software are the important features that we need to concentrate on.
Regarding the cost of the program, we are very aware of the importance of keeping costs to students as low as possible. Since the start of the laptop program in 1998 the fee has remained at $ 500, and we are determined to try and keep the fees at this level. The laptop program is self-sustaining, which means that all funding collected is used directly for the laptop program and this funding is not used for other University purposes.
Each year we try and add value to our program for students. From the Assessment Day survey several years ago, students told us that a laptop buyout upon graduation was very important. We took this feedback and developed a laptop buyout for WSU graduates. This program remains in effect and we have been able to provide a laptop buyout to students for as low as $25 at the time of graduation. The buyout program is a tiered system where the cost to students is determined by the number of years that they have participated in the laptop program. The 2006 assessment day survey shows that not all students are aware of this buyout program. We are making efforts to inform students of this program.

The feedback that students provide on the assessment day survey is very important to determine the structure of the laptop program. We appreciate the efforts that students make to keep us informed of what is important.