Understanding the ways students and faculty use IT

Published on: May 25, 2021

Learn about the ways students and faculty use information technology in the “ETRAC Undergraduate Survey Results 2020: Comparative U of T: All USAParticipants: USA Doctoral/Research Schools” presentation.

According to EDUCAUSE, technology is a critical part of the teaching and learning mission — as well as the research mission — of higher education.

ETRAC survey

That’s why the non-profit runs the annual EDUCAUSE Technology Research in the Academic Community (ETRAC) survey.

“The ETRAC surveys are intended to better understand the way students and faculty use information technology,” says Marden Paul, U of T’s Director of Planning Governance Assessment, Office of the Chief Information Officer. “We learn about successes and areas where there is need for further development and service improvements.”

This year’s ETRAC survey was adapted to help universities understand the student experience in times of the pandemic. It included 51 institutions and collected 12,579 responses.

“Usually, participation is greater as the prep and promotion occur from October to January and the survey runs from January to April,” said Paul. “In order to get some actionable results out to schools, they advanced the launch to mid-October and closed mid-December.”

At U of T, the results have been presented to a wide variety of audiences by Paul and Chief Information Officer Bo Wandschneider.

Comparative U of T results

To get a more in-depth look at the results and how they relate to U of T, view the presentation here: ETRAC Undergraduate Survey Results 2020: Comparative U of T: All USAParticipants: USA Doctoral/Research Schools.

Related report

Learn more about technologies that support student success in EDUCAUSE’s related report: How Technology Can Support Student Success during COVID-19 (published March 2020).

Information Technology Services (ITS)