Blackboard Survey Results Direct Academic Affairs Discussion

An impressive 358 Nebraska Wesleyan University students participated in a survey conducted by a Student Affairs Senate Committee. Tailored to gauge student opinions of the Blackboard Software, the Academic Affairs Committee conducted the survey after an initial SAS meeting this fall pinpointed areas of interest for each committee. Sarah Hotovy, a Senate representative for the Natural Sciences division remarked, “Many students had expressed their concerns that Blackboard, perhaps, wasn’t being used to the fullest extent.”

In fact, that sentiment was echoed by the survey results, which showed that while 74.3 percent of respondents access Blackboard three or more times per week, 64.5 percent also believe that professors should use Blackboard more.

The sample, which included students from fifty-five different majors, revealed a broad range of comments. A consistent thread throughout the open-ended responses focused on the grade book feature. Generally, they reflected the opinions of one student, who answered “It would be helpful if all professors posted grades on Blackboard. That way we [would] have an idea of where we stand in the class.” At present, survey results show that for 51.3 percent of respondents, less than half of professors provide grades on Blackboard.

Because Blackboard has two sides – the students’ edition and the professors’ – a similar study was distributed to the faculty. Seventy professors took the time to respond; of those 51 indicated that they use the grade feature.

Having gathered initial descriptive results, the Academic Affairs committee is using the responses from both groups to direct further conversation. Committee Chair Brad Gilligan stated, “We first stepped into the survey knowing that something was amiss (to raise student concerns). We’re now applying those results to see how students and faculty can best collaborate and be active partners in the NWU educational experience.”