UCT ERT Student Experience Survey 2020

Abstract

Final report of the UCT Emergency Remote Teaching Student Experience Survey 2020, an online survey of student experiences of emergency remote teaching (ERT) during the 2nd term of 2020 (April to July 2020).

The purpose of the survey was to inform and improve the design of courses taught online during the second semester of 2020 (August to November), and improve support for students where possible. The survey was thus a form of institutional research and followed an exploratory research design rather than setting out to confirm or disprove specific hypotheses.

The report presents key concerns of students during this time period, including mental health, course workload in relation to available time, and challenges relating to course site design, assessments, social connectedness, Internet access and mobile data and preferences relating to video material and synchronous teaching.

While most students experienced some difficulties arising from ERT and the COVID-19 lockdown conditions, students who no longer had access to UCT residences after the start of ERT were particularly adversely affected.