Student IT Services - Survey Report - September 2008: Conducted Between Monday 19 September and Sunday 6 October 2008

Student IT Services - Survey Report - September 2008
Conducted between Monday 19 September and Sunday 6 October 2008.
Collated by:
Steve Dunn
Training & Support Advisor
Student IT Services
email: steve.dunn@.otago.ac.nz
Phone: 03 - 479 5171
1
Table of Contents
2008 Survey Details .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Changes this year ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Quick Summary of Results ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Our Services ............................................................................................................................................................. 7
Computer Areas and Resources - 2008 .................................................................................................................... 8
Map of Computer Areas (CAL) - Dunedin Campus 2008 .......................................................................................... 9
Computer Numbers ................................................................................................................................................ 10
2008 Student IT Services – Online Survey Results................................................................................................. 11
How often do you use these services?.................................................................................................................... 12
What do you think of these services? ..................................................................................................................... 13
Written (Freetext) responses .................................................................................................................................. 16
Q 18 Comments about the University Internet speed (190 responses) ........................................................... 16
Q 20 Comments about the Tutor Supervisors (85 responses) ........................................................................ 20
Q 22 Comments about student email (110 responses) .................................................................................. 23
Q 24 Comments about the University printing system (115 comments).......................................................... 26
Q 26 Comments about eStops (87 responses) ............................................................................................... 29
Q 46 The main reason why you use your laptop at the University (210 respondents) .................................... 34
Q 47 Comments about our services. (109 Respondents) ............................................................................... 35
2
2008 Survey Details
• The 2008 Student IT Services survey was advertised in the Computer Areas and conducted
online using web based survey software. This is the first year that no paper surveys have
been conducted.
• The purpose of the survey is to ascertain the usage and perception of university Student
computer services by students.
• See the following pages for a list of services offered to students by SITS.
• 318 people responded (945 last year)
Changes this year
• Rebranding from Student Computing Services to Student IT Services

• Throughout the year we gained and lost several computer areas.
Permanently closed
Owheo (PC) with 21 PCs and Owheo (Mac) with 10 Macs.
Southwest (Physiotherapy Building)
Scott
New
Hunter Building
Bill Robertson library (College of Education)
Quick Summary of Results
• 96% of students (up 10% from last year) are accessing the Internet daily.
• Daily email use is up 15% to 62%.
• Despite large increases in the past, in 2008 less students claim to be accessing our web
pages daily or weekly. (daily use is down from 30% to 2% and weekly use is down 19% to
4%. Perceived quality of our website has also dropped: Excellent has dropped from 18% to
9% and Good has dropped from 37 to 21.
• This year our web pages were changed to a content management system. Students may
have difficulty finding their way around it, resulting in frustration. Scott Evangelou, who is one
of our half time Student IT Advisers and an expert on webpage usability, has been analysing
our web pages with a view to making them more usable in 2009.
• Tutor Supervisor use has dropped 9% but perception of quality has improved slightly.
• Appreciation of printing has improved. (perhaps the zoning showed students that we were
trying very hard to improve the service).
• The handbook was used less but those that did use it found it excellent. This year many
more handbooks (7,500) were produced. A large number of them were given to students to
help them set up their laptops for wireless service.
• Laptop ownership is virtually the same as last year.
Do you own a laptop? Yes No

2008 68 32
2007 67 33
2006 51 49
3
There is a vast amount of feedback in the free text comments which make up the last 19 pages
of this report. Here is a condensed version, see page 16 for all the comments.
Q 18 Comments about the University Internet speed (190 responses)
• Intermittent (113 comments)
• Wireless issues (15 responses)
• Really Slow (7 comments)
• Specific Issues (13 Comments)
• Logins to internet or to computers are slow (8 responses)
• Very Unhappy (6 responses)
• Too slow for video streaming (x3)
• I think a bandwidth management plan ( e.g. monthly bandwidth cap before speed is reduced) should be
• implemented. I've seen students streaming YouTube videos for hours, even during peak usage times.
• Terrible at Studholme college though
• I would be disappointed to get speeds like these at home. At a university they are especially frustrating.
• Compliments - well sort of… (30 comments) better than at home etc.
Q 20 Comments about the Tutor Supervisors (85 responses)

• Complimentary (50 comments)
• Negative (9 comments) should direct traffic, not talk too loudly to each other and should be like the green laptop
people
Q 22 Comments about student email (110 responses)

• Compliments (25 comments)
• Need more space (15 comments)
• I forward mine to another account (19 comments)
• Difficult to delete emails or purge them when deleted to free up space (4 comments)
• Spam is a problem (7 comments)
• Don’t like the was it looks: the interface, gui etc (15 comments)
• Slow (4 comments)
• Negatives (23 comments)
• The address book is quite difficult to use, it needs to be more convenient
• Email address is too long to be practical
• Sometimes it does not email some attachments or takes long time to send emails
• The whole delete mail and then purge deleted mail doesn’t seem useful.
• Please keep the account open after students leave the uni
• Is there anyway to back up emails after you leave?
• Automatically saving addresses you use often to 'my address book' would be nice.
• Not many people know you can find any student/staff address - perhaps this should be better advertised...?
Q 24 Comments about the University printing system (115 comments)
• Compliments (19 comments) Uniprint is fantastic

• Too expensive (34 comments)
• Duplex Please (7 comments)
• Why the zones? (6 comments)
• Takes the money but no printout (5 comments)
• Printer Refunds (3 comments) It’s a hassle
• Staplers (2 comments) I appreciate staplers at the stations.
• Autoloader (4 comments) more please
• Slow (4 comments)
• Unreliable/out of paper (7 comments)
• Suggestions (5 comments) Poor quality, a quick tutorial on printing multiple slides on one sheet, a student
colour printer in the commerce building would be nice.
• Maybe there should be a service to plug in usb storage and print directly, without logging into the network.
Does such a system exist? This would save my time and reduce network traffic.
General negatives (29 comments)
4
Q 26 Comments about eStops (87 responses)
• Speed up log in please (42 comments)

• People spend too long on them (5 comments)
• Would like a stool (5 comments)
• They are all PC and I am a Mac user!!!
• Would be good if there was more of them (x2)
• General Negatives (15 comments)
• These get really dirty
• Not good for my wrists lol.
• Get rid of the people who just use them for games, Facebook and Bebo.
• Can often be difficult to find one during busy times, which rather defeats the purpose, but i don't think making
more available would be likely to solve that. Very handy to have them.
• As long as people aren’t hanging around on them for ages!
• Need more - i.e. St. Davids building, link
Q 28 Comments about after hours access to computer labs (71 responses)

• Noisy/bad behaviour (12 comments)
• Temperature/ventilation (4 comments)
• Card doesn’t work (6 comments)
• Forgot pin (4 comments)
• Toilet access – Burns (3 comments)
• Suggestions/Questions (11 comments)
• Hunter should have 24 hour access.
• More signposting that they are available would be good
• Suggestion: At least one after hours computer room should have facilities for loading money onto your account
for printing, or would it be possible to set up a site where you could direct debit money from your bank account
onto you student account.
• General negative (7 comments)
• It is a pain to get in and out, and there should be more computer labs open!!!
• it would be nice to be able to access the Cals in Commerce after hours even if you are not a commerce student
Q 46 The main reason why you use your laptop at the University (210 respondents)
• Can choose my study space. (6 comments)

• Admin access/use own programs (5 comments)
• Easy to take files home (5 comments)
• Privacy (4 comments)
• Taking lecture notes (2 comments)
• Don’t have to queue for a student computer (1 comment)
• Means I have more room to spread out books and notes around computer
• Easier to listen to music
• Do not have internet access at home
• Suggestion: If you can change the security mode to wap1, I can use my PDA instead of the heavy notebook
Q 47 Comments about our services. (109 Respondents)
• General compliments (49 comments)

• Wireless (14 comments) Should be in more places, should be faster, should work with PDAs
• Slow Logins (12 comments) The log-on time for desktops is unacceptable (except for the Macs),
• More power outlets for laptops (11 comments)
• Lab Cleaning/Environment (7 comments)
• Internet Slow (5 comments)
• Lab Temperature/ventilation (5 comments)
• More Computers (3 comments)
• Faster estop logins (1 comment)
• Macs Issues (3 comments) S:Drive access difficult
5
• Excellent services. Especially the IT Help desk,
• Group Study Room (2 comments) More, please clarify the rules, do you allow talking?
• Need more S Drive space (5 comments) I have to use Google documents, which is slow!!
• Update software (1 comment)
• Update hardware (1 comment)
• Random suggestions or questions (26 comments)
• Advertise free labs better
• Do the supervisors in the yellow jackets help out with course stuff e.g. Helping with graphs?
• The computers in North CAL should have the monitors lowered so that the top is eye level i've strained my
neck looking up at them all the time.
• Not very impressed with the huge screens in St Davids and Hercus I think its a bit excessive.
• Noisy students in labs
• Queue jumpers annoy me heaps
• I think it would be a good idea to support some Linux distributions E.g. Maybe a .deb package file that would
install the necessary WPA2 protocols and setup the university proxy settings. This would make wireless setup
much easier for anyone using Ubuntu or another debian-based Linux distribution.
• More Power points for laptops
• For space and energy savings, it would be worth while to investigate, changing from computer rooms, to giving
everyone a basic laptop for their time here and reducing the current energy usage.
• TURN the computers of at night to save power!!!!!!!!!!!
• Should think a way to avoid excessive uses of internet on university i.e. Games, online movies, download
videos/musics
• More computers at the Dental and medical libraries
• Not very well publicized. It would be good if ITS information, particularly relating to software available through
the university, was part of an information pack mailed to new students.
• I fell that at the library a lot of the computers are being used for non-course related work. It may be something
worth considering to have an area in the library where the computers are only connected to the local intranet so
that students who have to write an essay or lab report using books in closed reserve but don't own a laptop can
use these instead.. Just a suggestion.
Best suggestion!
• It seems really silly having printed out probably a gazillion little fliers asking to do this survey when the massive
computer screen on the wall in Hunter is just scrolling "please move mouse to log in". Wouldn’t this be a better
use of resources? You could put up any kind of propaganda you liked on that screen. Just saying.
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Our Services
Services
Brief description of the service
Provided
Computer Areas These are areas within libraries, areas with 24 hour access and eStops
which house our computers which run the standard student computer
desktop. Some library computers are actually owned by the libraries but
the software, some servicing and Tutor Supervisor service is available.
See the next page for a summary of what is available.
Tutor- Tutor-Supervisors are trained to help students working in the Computer
Supervisors
Areas. They can be found on duty in Burns Computer Room or the
Information Commons Area in the ISB 9am-11pm during semester time.
Tutor-Supervisors can also be found in other Computer Areas at various
times.
SITS Hotline Help is available on the Student Computing Hotline (extension 5170)
during Tutor Supervisor hours (typically 9am-11pm during semester time)
Student Comp Information about the Areas. They are freely available in the Computer
Handbook
Areas and at the ITS HelpDesk.
SITS WebPages The SITS WebPages (www.otago.ac.nz/its/students) contain important
information about the Computer Areas. Tutorials and other information and
forms are available at this site.
Scanners There are 13 scanners spread around the Computer Areas.
Feedback Forms Students can make comments about our services on feedback forms.
These are answered and displayed in the respective Computer areas
Students receive a personal response if they provide an address.
Internet & Email All students have international Internet access, to assist them in their
studies.
Students are also provided with a University email address.
After Hour 8 Computer Areas can be accessed 24 hours a day, the remaining
Access
Computer Areas are open Library or Lecture Theatre hours. All University
of Otago students are automatically granted after hour access.
Internal Phones Non-library Computer Areas have an internal phone so that students can
contact the SCS Hotline (5170), Campus Security (5000) or Emergency
Services (1111) when required. External calls are barred
eStops These are stand-up computers located in the ISB, Castle and St David
Lecture Theatre Complexes for short tasks such as email, Internet,
Blackboard and printing.
Group Study A room with 6 PCs, spacious workbenches and extra chairs allowing for
Room
those who need to work on a group assignment together.
Printing A4 black and white printers are located in all computer areas.
A4 colour, printers are available in the Information Commons Area in the
ISB during Library hours and Burns, Tower and Hercus.
The Uniprintshop is located in the ISB and offers competitive printing.
Tip Sheets These are double-sided A4 brochures providing tips on using Microsoft
Office, Photoshop, SPSS, Endnote and manipulating images. They are
also available on our website.
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Computer Areas and Resources - 2008
This list includes library, and ITS computers. Computer numbers and equipment may vary
throughout the year as equipment is updated.
Location Access Type Building Floor Hours Number Printer

Arts class Arts 1 ground 24/7 45 Black & White
Burns open Arts 1 ground 24/7 30 Black & White, Colour
Castle eStop Castle ground Building 18 Black & White
Central class Richardson ground CLOSED 24 Black & White
Dental library Dental ground Dent Lib 6 Black & White
Enterprise class UOCE ground 24/7 21 Black & White
Foundation class Foundation ground 24/7 19 Black & White
Group open Arts 1 ground 24/7 6 use Arts
Hercus class Hercus ground 24/7 60 Black & White, Colour
Hunter class Hunter 1st Building 40? Black and White
ISB library ISB ground Library 126 Black & White, Colour
ISB eStop ISB ground Library 22 Black & White
Link eStop ISB ground Library 9 Black & White
Law library Richardson 8th Law Lib 9 Black & White
Medical library Sayers 1st Med Lib 18 Black & White
North class Science 3 ground 24/7 30 Black & White
Richardson Law Lib

class Richardson 5th 15 Black & White
Science library Science 3 ground Sci Lib 12 Black & White
St David class Foundation ground 24/7 21 Black & White
Black & White
St David eStop Yes ground Building 12
Black & White, Colour
Tower class UOCE ground 24/7 38 Black & White
West class Yes ground 24/7 24
• Areas labelled Class are occasionally booked for classes so check timetable before visiting.
• Areas labelled Library are never booked and are open library hours.
• eStops are stand-up computers for short tasks and are open during normal building hours.
• Open areas are never booked.
• Most areas have a scanner, usually with a memory card reader attached.
• Printers in libraries (except the ISB) require you to swipe your student card through the reader.
• All computers can write (burn) CD-R/RW.
• Burns, West and Enterprise have Mac computers which have extra software and can write to DVD.
• Minitab is available in Hunter, Hercus and Central only.
• Room Changes in 2008:
• Scott, Owheo and South West are all closed permanently.
• Hunter was opened this year and the Bill Robertson library has Polytec and University computers.
8
Map of Computer Areas (CAL) - Dunedin Campus 2008
This is a map showing the location of the student computers on the University of Otago - Dunedin
campus including the College of Education.
9
Computer Numbers
Student IT Services (SITS), is part of Customer Services, ITS. It manages the open access
student Computer Areas around campus. There are currently a total of 605 PCs, This includes
75 new iMacs which can operate as either PCs or Macs. We manage 22 Computer Areas. The
Commerce Computer Areas are not included in these figures.
Computer
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
type
Mac 253 235 229 203 70 28 26 34 75
PC 153 257 299 337 457 549 582 633 605
Total 406 492 528 540 527 577 608 667 605
The numbers of computers SCS (now SITS) manage over last seven years (Includes all Library
computers using student desktop) Bill Robertson library figures are not included.
SITS Computer Numbers
800
700
Computer Numbers
600
500
Mac
400 PC
Total
300
200
100
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
10
2008 Student IT Services – Online Survey Results
• 318 students completed this survey online this year

• All figures in the following tables are percentages of the total responses received for each
question
1 What is your year of study?
Year of
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002
Study
1 24 19.8 16.9 14.8 15.9 18.3 14.7
2 25 21.8 21.6 26.3 21.5 21.8 23.7
3 23 29.6 32 29.6 28.2 30.6 29.5
4 27 16.6 17.3 18.3 20 18.4 19.4
5 7.9 8.5 7.8 7.2 8.1 8.3
11
>5 4.1 5.1 3.2 4.6 2.8 3.0
2 Where do you use computers the most?
Central
Lab Location Commerce CAL Lab Department Own Laptop
Library
2008 4 29 30 7 30
2007 5.6 46.8 20.2 21.1 2
2006 24.8 54.1 26.6 30.7 Not asked
3. What time of day do you most often use a computer?
Before noon Noon - 5pm 5pm onwards

14 52 34
4. What day of the week did you fill this out?
Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun

15 34 18 8 10 8 6
11
How often do you use these services?
08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07
Daily Daily Weekly Weekly Monthly Monthly Rarely 3 Monthly Never Rarely What? Never
5 The Internet 96 86 4 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Tutor Supervisors 1 2 6 8 10 16 43 6 37 38 3 31
7 Student Email 62 47 21 28 2 5 7 1 8 9 0 9
8 Printing 21 20 53 58 14 13 9 3 3 4 0 2
9 eStops 11 13 45 41 19 20 18 4 5 14 1 7
10 Afterhours access 10 9 25 28 15 21 29 7 18 17 4 18
11 SITS Webpages 2 30 4 19 5 9 38 3 35 15 16 25
12 Hotline 0 1 0 1 1 1 14 2 61 12 23 82
13 Feedback Forms 0 0 0 1 0 2 14 2 62 12 23 84
14 Handbook 0 0 1 1 8 2 50 4 32 17 8 76
15 Tipsheets 0 1 0 1 7 2 27 5 46 18 19 72
16 Netstorage 1 - 7 - 11 - 13 - 41 - 26 -
Comparisons between 2007 and 2008
Changes 07 to 08 Daily Weekly Monthly Rarely Never

5 The Internet 10 -8 -1 0 0
6 Tutor Supervisors -1 -2 -6 37 6
7 Student Email 15 -7 -3 6 -1
8 Printing 1 -5 1 6 1
9 eStops -2 4 -1 14 -2
10 Afterhours access 1 -3 -6 22 0
11 SITS Webpages -28 -15 -4 35 10
12 Hotline -1 -1 0 12 -21
13 Feedback Forms 0 -1 -2 12 -22
14 Handbook 0 0 6 46 -44
15 Tipsheets -1 -1 5 22 -26
Notes
This table shows how the percentages varied between 2007 and 2008
In 2007 the sequence of options was:
Daily Weekly Monthly 3 Monthly Rarely Never
In 2008 the sequence of options was:
Daily Weekly Monthly Rarely Never What’s this?
This may account for the large difference in responses in the Rarely and Never sections
Looking at just the Daily, Weekly and Monthly sections,

It can be inferred from this table that:
• Internet access is now occurring daily (96%) for most of the students who responded to this
survey.
• Daily email use is up 15% to 62%
• Despite large increases in the past, less students claim to be accessing our webpages daily
or weekly.
This year our webpages were changed to a content management system. Student may be less
familiar with it. Our usability expert, Scott Evangelou has been analysing our web pages with a
view to making them more usable.
12
What do you think of these services?
08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07 08 07
Not so Not so Never Never

Excellent Excellent Good Good Acceptable Acceptable Useless Useless
Good Good used used
17 Internet Speed 6 9 41 40 35 33 15 14 4 3 0 1
19 Tutor Supervisors 22 19 33 42 12 15 1 1 0 1 32 23
21 Student email 24 23 43 46 20 18 4 4 3 1 6 6
23 Printing 27 19 47 50 16 23 6 6 0 1 4 1
25 eStops? 20 15 49 51 19 20 3 4 1 1 8 7
27 Afterhours access 32 29 33 37 7 13 2 1 0 1 26 18
29 SITS Webpages 9 18 21 37 12 11 1 2 0 0 57 30
30 Hotline 3 3 7 9 6 9 1 1 0 4 82 78
31 Feedback Forms 2 3 8 7 5 9 1 1 0 1 84 79
32 Handbook 13 4 30 37 15 11 1 2 1 1 40 71
33 Tipsheets 5 4 19 12 9 11 0 1 0 0 68 72
34 Netstorage 11 - 21 - 9 - 4 - 1 - 54 -
Changes 07 to 08 Excellent Good Acceptable Not so Good Useless Never used

17 Internet Speed -3 1 2 1 1 -1
19 Tutor Supervisors 3 -9 -3 0 -1 9
21 Student email 1 -3 2 0 2 0
23 Printing 8 -3 -7 0 -1 3
25 eStops? 5 -2 -1 -1 0 1
27 Afterhours access 3 -4 -6 1 -1 8
29 SITS Webpages -9 -16 1 -1 0 27
30 Hotline 0 -2 -3 0 -4 4
31 Feedback Forms -1 1 -4 0 -1 5
32 Handbook 9 -7 4 -1 0 -31
33 Tipsheets 1 7 -2 -1 0 -4
Notes
This table shows how the percentages varied between 2007 and 2008
The figures indicate that:

• Tutor Supervisor use has dropped 9% (see the Never Used column)
• Appreciation of printing has improved. (perhaps the zoning showed students that we were
trying very hard to improve the service).
• Our website is less appreciated and less used. This year our web pages were changed to a
content management system. Students may be less familiar with it.
• The handbook was used less but those that did use it found it excellent. This year many
more handbooks (7,500) were produced. A large number of them were given to students to
help them set up their laptops for wireless service.
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35. Thinking of the last time you logged on, how would you rate the chair you sat on?
Comfortable 34
Adequate 48
Broken 11
No chair 6
36. Thinking of the last time you logged on, how would you rate the desk area?
Clean 37
Acceptable 55
Messy 7
Filthy 2
37. The last time you logged on, how was the room temperature?
Too hot 24
Warm 63
Cool 11
Too cold 2
38. Which computer room are you completing this survey in?
Computer Area Response Percent
Arts Burns or Group Study Room 12
Castle eStop 4
Central (in Richardson) 5
Dental Library 0
Hercus 3
Richardson 5th floor 2
Central Library 30
Law Library 4
Med Library 3
North (opposite Science Library) 4
Hunter Building 4
Science Library 2
St David/Foundation 5
St David eStop 7
Tower/Enterprise (College of
5
Education)
West (Physical Education Building) 2
I am using my laptop at university 4
I am completing this at home 6
14
39. Do you prefer working with PCs or Macs?
PC 85
Mac 15
40. Do you have a laptop you use at University? (If No skip to question 47)
Year Yes No
2008 68 32
2007 67 33
2006 51 49
41. If no, and you are returning to Otago, do you intend getting one for next year's study?
Yes 52
No 48
The note “If No skip to question 47” should have been after question 41
Subsequently there were fewer responses to this question. Instead of around 300 responses
there were only 64
42 When using your own laptop, is mains power supply an issue?
Often 44
Sometimes 38
Seldom 8
Never 10
43. When using your own laptop, at university would you prefer to use.
A proper computer lab desk 42

Any spare table 63
On my knee 9
Anywhere there is a connection 39
44. When using your own laptop, is Wireless Internet connection an issue.
Often 34
Sometimes 42
Seldom 14
Never 10
45. Do you use your laptop for course work?
Yes 99
No 1
46. Main reason why you use your laptop at University?

Avoid queue delays
Avoid queue delays 27
Take notes at lectures 6 Take notes at lectures
Hygiene 1
Can work anywhere on campus 30 Hygiene
File storage 17
Can work anywhere on
Other, please specify 18 campus
(see Q 46, appendix) File storage
Other, please specify

15
Written (Freetext) responses
Q 18 Comments about the University Internet speed (190 responses)
Really Slow (7 comments)

• Sometimes it is really slow!
• The speed is very slow and often does not work at all and this seriously jeopardizes my ability to perform well in
my papers!!! The internet connection needs serious attention.
• sometimes it is way too slow, especially when the computer area is full
• Sometimes in the central library it is absolutely terrible and makes it practically impossible to get any work done
on the net
• Sometimes it gets really slow when accessing sites outside Otago Uni websites.
• really bad
• Attempting to use it. Very frustrating.
Slow (2 comments)
• could be faster
• would be better if it was a bit faster.
Intermittent (113 comments)

• It varies sometimes it's really excellent and sometimes not so good.
• Jetstream speed like Auckland university would be better
• Sometimes it's not fast enough for YouTube.
• Obviously it fluctuates heavily with demand. it is fine in the mornings or at night.
• when there’s max students the speed of the internet is more than noticeable, becomes frustrating at times
• good sometimes but log in can be excruciatingly slow other times.
• Varies A LOT. Can be very fast but is generally slow.
• I would have expected that computers in the computer labs would have a faster internet speed. My computer at
home is quicker.
• Varies a bit. A bit too slow sometimes though. Fast during the nights and slow during the middle of the
• speed is vary
• Could be faster generally. sometimes it is really fast and sometimes it takes aaaaaggggges to load some
things.
• Speed seems somewhat variable. Sometimes fine and at other times so slow you're forced to just give up.
• some time of the day it can get really slow but otherwise it's fine
• [speed] varies hugely!
• It comes and goes, sometimes is really good and sometimes is really bad.
• The internet is generally quick but does have periods with limited or no speed.
• the internet speed can be very very slow at times but also very quick at other times
• It depends on the time of day if its fast or not
• Sometimes inconsistent
• Fluctuates at times, depending on time of day, but generally good
• Very sporadic, some days are ok, some are terrible. Also a big difference in speeds between University
websites and non-Uni. websites.
• It can be fast on days when I guess it isn't busy but it can get pretty slow as well
• Its a reasonable speed but can be too slow when it is busy and a hassle when you need to get to class
• Its generally good but sometimes goes through unbearably slow stages. Sometimes I get frustrated and just
give up but this doesn’t happen often. This semester has been better than last.
• gets too slow at times but changeable
• good when no one is around which is when I use comps
• there are days when it is fast and there are days when I waited for ages just for a web page to load.
• sometimes, the speed is quite slow in the peak hour
• some days its fine other days really bad. Student email can be really slow 2 out of 3 days
• it's like winning lotto when you manage to get a good connection and speed at Uni
• very temperamental, some days it is fine, on others it can be quite slow. Also dependent on the time of day
sometimes
• It has its good and bad days, often during Mon-Thur it is slow all day at the library which is frustrating.
• It is usually very good but at time (probably when there are lots of people using it) it does run very slowly and
can get frustrating.
16
• Sometimes it is acceptable, but at other times I have gone to the library to do work and just ended up going
home because the internet was too slow.
• Very good, except of course during times when there is high usage throughout the university.
• The speed is pretty good most of the time, but it can get a bit slow sometimes in CAL labs like Hercus and
Burns.
• It varies
• get slow when many people are using it at the same time
• Very unreliable, sometimes great, sometimes impossible.
• good but sometimes could be a bit faster.
• It is very good on the university sites, but sometimes it is slow on other sites.
• often very slow during mid-day but otherwise is quite fast
• Really slow on Hotmail..which I get all my uni emails sent to. The uni pages are all fast but others not so much.
• It changes so often. Sometimes its fine and other times its slow. It can get frustrating when you don't know what
to expect
• It fluctuates heavily. Early mornings and late evenings are great. Mid day is not so good. Iva also heard that the
physics dept is the place to be.
• sometimes its great, sometimes its horribly slow!! seems to be the slowest when assignments are due (end of
day, end of week)
• The speed severely decreases during peak hours, but that's understandable.
• The speed is alright, but recently the internet has been disconnecting, then reconnecting a lot
• Its pretty good most of the time but during the really busy times like lunch time its a bit less ideal.
• compatible when I know it is (!) and to top it off when you finally connect it runs very slowly.
• Sometimes it gets a bit clogged up, especially around exams
• The internet speed is faster at night and in the breaks. If I need speed for an app, I'll wait till then to run it.
• a bit slow at times
• Sometimes it is a bit slower
• Depends on the day, sometimes its good but other times it can be very slow especially when you are trying to
find your way through multiple databases
• mostly it is fast but sometimes when many users log on it becomes slow.
• occasionally runs slowly (seems to have been happening more frequently over the last 2 weeks?) but usually
great
• Can be a bit slow at times
• it varies considerably and when it slows down due to (I assume) people seriously overusing downloading
privileges, it is far to slow for in class use.
• It is very good the majority of the time. But sometimes it can be very slow particularly with uploading videos on
YouTube etc...
• Some times of the day, it tends to slow down a bit but mostly its all good.
• Generally it is fine, however at times it can get pretty bad with loading simple pages.
• it really depends. sometimes it is ridiculously slow
• It varies. Some days its good, some days its bad. It can be very temperamental and wireless is very shoddy
sorry!
• Its pretty good, except it buffers quite often when trying to watch commerce videos
• Sometimes the speed is too slow, and I get annoyed to see people using university internet for plating games
or watching online movies. I suggest ITS make a monthly limit for these excessive users or ask them to pay for
any extra data they downloaded.
• could be improved especially during the day and exam period
• it varies, its like one min its fast, the next not so fast
• I’ve noticed that the internet is real slow between noon and 6pm. Sometimes reception isn’t as strong on the
2nd (top floors) of the library
• usually quite fast, but sometimes could be jammed, is it because too many people on line at one time? I
suggest you use Opera browser.
• Wireless needs to be faster
• if there is too many students use the internet, it go slow very bad
• could be faster
• It at time can be very slow I find this when I need to print out things from email and also am looking for sites. I
think it could be faster
• Can be a bit slow at times.
• when there are a lot of people using the wireless internet in the library. it is nearly impossible to connect and
use the wireless internet reliably without it disconnecting. this makes it difficult to complete online tests or
download files off blackboard.
• users.
• Always disconnects
17
• needs to be quicker
• Inconsistent
• It's not fast enough
• too slow
• Constant Disconnections are infuriating and very annoying, These make it appear that the internet is running
slower than it should be
• very irregular, some days it is fast, other days it is very slow
• Internet in the main library is either slow or connection keeps turning on and off.
• Its usually quite fast it lately it has been incredibly slow
• I find the speed is inconsistent to what can be presumed to be 'busy times'
• mostly fine. some kinks at busy times like in between classes but mainly really fast
• Sometimes wireless is intermittent
• it varies too much, at peak times it can be unusable
• Slow to originally log on
• Some computers seem to run very slowly
• I think the internet speed and quality is terrible in the central library when using personal laptops.
• The internet speed isn’t really the issue (although on some days it can be really awful), more the time it takes to
log in on most computers.
• Sometimes I can not even open student webmail in the morning at 9am....very disappointing
• Many times the internet just doesn't work even I just try to check my e-mail on the net.
• At the Central Library the internet speed is rather slow and faster broadband is needed for academic needs.
• Can be touch and go at the lib; at times get sick of waiting for slow internet especially when have an
assignment due
• Sometimes its really slow! Often slow during the day, then a bit better during the night.
• Just rarely varied. Sometimes it just doesn't go. Sometimes it actually feels like we have broadband!
• Sometimes its pretty slow. Mostly its fine but its annoying when things are going wrong and we really have no
idea what it is or when it can be expected to be fixed.
• The speed is often slow in the commerce labs. Not sure why.
• Still to slow during peak times. Trying to do research on a database like Factiva is painful. I understand you
don't want people you tubing etc but the internet is slow enough to hamper legitimate usage. Waiting 30
seconds for a page of text is just atrocious.
• Bad in the central library when lots of people are using it. Hard to connect with wireless. Other libraries are fine
with connecting.
• It's been really bad recently. The wireless keeps logging out or not connecting to proxy properly
• its pretty okay for the amount of people using it at one time.
• During peak hours it can be extremely slow.
• occasionally from time to time the uni internet speed is way too slow to do simple tasks. but otherwise it is an
incredibly good system, cheers.
• Varies greatly from day to day, sometimes is really quick, other times is painfully slow
• the speed varies sometimes
• The wireless in the library is really frustrating, how it changes speeds and cuts in and out even when you are
sitting in the same spot.
• Can vary quite a bit but is usually very good.
• it would be better if the speed of internet is faster before 5pm
Logins (to internet or to computer) are slow (8 responses)

• It always takes a long time to load up - sometimes up to 10 minutes! Then internet is also slow on occasions
• Takes a while to log onto uni computers
• takes ages to log on some days
• It sometimes seems like I have to wait too long to log in.
• sometimes it takes ages to connect to the internet.
• Can take up over 20 minutes to load sometimes, can be annoying if you don’t have a lot of time before class or
you need to print an assignment quickly but I know this cant be helped due to the many people using the
system at the same time. 50% of the time its good.
• It don't have a stability, sometimes even take 15minis to log in!
• the internet is quite ok, but the time taken by the computer to log in is quite long..
18
Very Unhappy (6 responses)
• I have used the Internet in many countries - new Zealand is the WORST. I have also worked at a UK university
- the internet speed was infinitely better - especially when using databases like Ovid. I actually
• avoid using Ovid now, which probably is not brilliant for my research.
• It is extremely slow during peak periods when people need it the most to do work. Not good enough for the fees
we are paying!
• I know real problems exist between 11 and 3 but the logon speed of up to 10 mins is ridiculous, even at
eStops??, make nonsense of having quick places to check emails or blackboard. Personally when checking net
I give up on research post of the time because of the delays with pages until later in the day.
• The commerce building has the worst internet speed of the entire University network and they said that they
have their own system but why is it soooooooooo SLOW! I think speed through the entire University could be
improved.
• Understandably, it is slow during peak usage times and very fast outside these times, but on occasion it can be
EXCRUCIATINGLY SLOW, even Blackboard and other Otago sites.
Wireless issues (15 responses)

• UO-STUDENT wifi is next to useless. Incredibly frustrating trying to use it as it constantly drops, requires
several tries at authentication, tells me my network card isn't
• it is usually good but connection in the library via wireless is often faulty, especially when lots of people are in
the library
• not very reliable but when it is good its really good. Wireless hard to get in certain parts of the library.
• wireless is very bad and often connectivity is lost
• Wireless internet access at central library is useless before 10pm as there are too many people
• I got a laptop for uni but the internet has really been useless and just a waste of time. I'm talking about wireless.
other internet is ok...
• My biggest issue is finding a seat and going to use the wireless to find I have poor connectivity. not your
problem I know but still frustrating in the library
• days (predictable).
• The internet speed is very slow during daytime and sometimes it will disconnect days (predictable).
• The internet speed is very slow during daytime and sometimes it will disconnect itself. plus, the wireless
coverage is very limited to certain campus area only. I think students will be more productive if the wireless
coverage is active throughout the whole campus. ct itself. plus, the wireless coverage is very limited to certain
campus area only. I think students will be more productive if the wireless coverage is active throughout the
whole campus.
• Wireless should be better, should cover more of the university, in the central library there is little or no
• Sometimes the wireless and the speed is absolutely crap and the rest of the time it is average.
• Wireless has recently been quite slow and unreliable at Science Library
• Speed is fine but the broadband and wireless is unreliable.
• Wireless in the central library is very unreliable and not very fast
Specific Issues (13 Comments)

• Too slow for video streaming
• it's good enough to look at websites etc but not so good for streaming videos etc
• I think a bandwidth management plan ( e.g. monthly bandwidth cap before speed is reduced) should be
• implemented. I've seen students streaming YouTube videos for hours, even during peak usage times.
• Terrible at Studholme college though
• Slow at times especially when trying to watch videos
• At times (for example, right now), it is great. It is also really great when downloading from Otago websites (e.g.
Blackboard) while on campus. But 99% of the time it is too slow for general browsing, and sometimes useless
for downloading online journal articles etc. Sometimes these time-out and I need to make multiple attempts to
actually retrieve the file. I would be disappointed to get speeds like these at home. At a university they are
especially frustrating.
• it has its moments, then again it might depend on time
• there is no way to see videos on the internet due to the speed
• it is good at the moment, but it could be made faster. occasionally one can't access some websites, this
should be looked into
• The chemistry computers can be very slow, otherwise I never have problem with speed.
• cell phone reception. Wondering why you cant access some files off Mac computers on NetStorage
• It takes a long time to log on
19
Compliments - well sort of… (30 comments)
• Its pretty good. I bought myself a landline cord for my computer because wireless was always disconnecting.
Plus using internet saves me from buying an internet card at my hall, cause here it is free!
• We've got dial up at home, so Uni = good!
• its great and faster than the one at home
• Awesome, apart from the occasional time when maybe its really busy and pages wont load. Has only happened
to me 2/3 times.
• It's good most of the time but really slows around exam time which is annoying
• Most of the time it is exceptional, however, on the odd occasion it is awful.
• Better than most
• Over all I find it very good, fast and efficient. During some peek times when there are a lot of people using the
internet it is a little slower, but this is to be expected.
• It seems ok
• Ok
• ok
• It really good when nobody else is using the internet =)
• Its variable. Normally very good, but can be frustratingly slow on rare occasions
• mostly good. Although it gets pretty slow during periods when the computer labs are quite full
• logging in times can be slow but once it is all going the speed is great
• I think it is good considering how many students use it at any given time. It is quicker than at home.
• Generally good,
• It seems to be great most of the time.
• It's alright, could be faster
• It is good. Although sometimes it can be really slow. It is generally good despite the great amount of
• usually very good, one or 2 days its been very slow though
• The speed is fine when its good, but I've found it to be quite variable.
• Very good. It does however, tend to slow down at about 11am. In the evenings, after 6pm things quicken up
again.
• Okay if you're plugged in but very unreliable otherwise.
• most of the time its ok, but when it's slow, it's REALLY slow
• The student computers are fine.
• It is much better compared to the year I came
• Not too bad
• Its better that what we get at our flat
• its ok..
• It works good if no one else is using it. Once its loaded up it drops away pretty fast.
Q 20 Comments about the Tutor Supervisors (85 responses)
Complimentary (50 comments)

• I had an issue with printing once and the girl was extremely helpful
• They are excellent in terms of customer service and knowledge
• They are really helpful.
• Very friendly down to earth people
• Good attitude they have
• Very informative and always know what to do
• You can always find them when you need help which is handy.
• They usually just tell you to turn off the computer and restart it, but I’m sure if I had any other query they’d be
ok.
• They're generally very helpful :)
• Very helpful and have good knowledge of software used on the computers
• Very helpful, they know what they are doing and if they don't they know who to contact to find out. Two thumbs
up!
• I haven’t come across a grumpy one yet!! Congrats
• Awesome
• I haven't come across any who aren't friendly and helpful. It would be nice though if they could stop people
using Facebook and You Tube when others are waiting to use computers for university work.
• I used them once and they were good
20
• They do a good job in making the computer rooms clean for us
• Have always been friendly and helpful when i’ve needed them
• They have known everything vie asked
• I have only used them once and he was good.
• Very friendly and helpful
• They are very helpful
• I would have lost two hours of internet research without their help! Thank you yellow-jackets!
• Some of the tutor supervisors seem to be willing to help but some does not..
• Only asked for help once and they were very helpful
• Very helpful
• They help me to solve a lot of computer problems.
• They are willing to help me when I got the problem
• Varies but the majority are pretty good. However I have never needed their help but I have seen them interact
with others. I like one supervisor called Amanda, she is very friendly and helpful.
• Very helpful
• They are really good and helpful
• Kind-hearted and friendly
• They are helpful and sweet
• Have been very helpful and patient every time I have asked a question
• Only needed help from them a handful of times in 2 years they have been great
• They seem very helpful. I have only used them once but they are normally around and on hand when you need
them.
• They are just alright
• Always happy to help
• Have only used once but helped
• Good that they're in the yellow jackets easily spotted... But maybe more IT people to fix laptops after dinner
time
• Nice
• Good presence
• Always easy to find.
• They are amazing
• Very helpful with printing issues
• I have only needed help a couple of times but they always seem to be very helpful
• I’ve asked for help once and they are helpful.
• Very helpful - always willing to give a hand.
• Don’t often use them but they are very helpful when I have
• They're all really helpful and friendly :)
• Good
Negative (9 comments)
• Great help [but] it is frustrating when lining up for computers in central lib and tutors are sifting around talking to
each other, can they look for free computers when there is a giant line? Its hard to see them from the front of
the line.
• Most of them know less than me and have hardly ever solved any probs :S
• Some have no clue about computers (or is it just my bad experience?!)
• More training on common things like office
• Problems only with consistency - especially with printing pdf's or powerpoint - one will suggested one way and
someone else will know a better option - have wasted paper and money on this.
• Sometimes a bit disrespectful towards 'younger' looking students. Well just once actually I’m sure that the
person wouldn't have used that tone with a senior or person of equal age to themselves. But not really a
problem
• I find it frustrating when some Tutor Supervisors sit at their stations and have loud conversations with friends,
as it disrupts the people around them
• Should walk around more to check for free computers when it's busy
• If they are there to help they do their job well. One or two of them seem to think they are in the police, and a
small number of them have been to Nazi training camp. As usual with power it is those groups without it that
can’t handle it when they get it.
21
Haven’t used their services much (21 comments)
• I don't really need them
• I've never had problems with my computer so I have never used this service
• Only used once
• Have never used them but they are always around...
• I have had little experience with them
• I don't use them
• I don’t ever use them but they look helpful
• Never use them but I can see how they can be a good help
• I don’t really seek the supervisors for help but when I have they have been a great help.
• Never needed them, but they give great service!
• I haven't ever used them, but from what I have seen they are really helpful.
• Only used them once before.
• Haven’t needed to use them, so don't really know
• Never seen them before
• Who?
• I do not know what they are for...
• Never really used them so not sure what they are there for.
• I rarely ask for help. But they seem to be very helpful and always willing to answer/help everyone.
• They always seem to be around which is helpful, I just don’t need them. I see many other people using them
though.
• Never really needed one..
• They are present, though I’ve never spoken to one of them
22
Q 22 Comments about student email (110 responses)
Compliments (25 comments)

• Cool
• Easy to use and find other students on
• Useful
• Really good. Easy to use. A very important tool that i use / access at least three times a day.
• I like the blacklist option to get rid of spam and other unwanted e-mails
• Haven’t had any probs with it...
• Love it
• Free webmail services (hotmail, gmail, yahoo) are far superior and students should be encouraged to forward
email to those addresses.
• Very good...
• Use a lot
• No problem
• Pretty fast and good
• Good chat
• So far so good
• Quite good
• Very easy address book access, and you know your email is going to reach whoever you're sending it to.
• It is a good way for lecturers and students to communicate with other students, so it is a good resource
• Perfect
• No problems
• Very good service and also really awesome
• Great spam filter thanks. I mean some stuff still gets through but you're really onto it there! Its simple to use and
easy to navigate
• Very useful
• Its really straight forward
• Very good, most of my email correspondence is done on the student email
• Lists of tutor/lecturer emails needed/useful
Need more space (15 comments)

• Need more space quota.. Some nz unis have 100mb.
• Need a bigger space limit
• Could do with a larger limit, i fill mine up with attachments too often.
• Need more storage
• Really good, but more space would be nice - 50mb isn't much.
• Email storage size is too small!
• Simple and clean. Although i have lost emails in the past and my fellow students forget to empty there inboxes
so they don't get my emails!
• Would be good to have more space and not have to delete deleted emails to create more room
• Increase size
• Very good. Only one problem is that the space on my student email gets full up very quickly... So i have to
always delete emails to make space for new ones.... This can be very annoying
• The storage size of student email is too small
• Need more space, often get things through with presentations and pdf's. A few of those over a couple of
• Needs more storage
• [a few] days and its full
• I don't know if this already happens or not, but i was just thinking that the amount of storage in student email
should be increased as your year of study increases.
I forward mine to another account (19 comments)

• I don't use the student web mail site, i forward it to my main e-mail. It is good, but i wouldn't check it as much if
it wasn't forwarded
• I have my student mail forwarded to my personal email
• Well, i do kind of use it, but get all my emails redirected to hotmail
• Awesome tool. But i prefer to foward it to my gmail account as this is my main email
• I like the way you can forward it to another personal account
23
• I don’t use it, all the emails that i get on student email get directed to my hotmail address
• I tend to find gmail a lot easier.
• I get mine redirected to my other email address, but i receive lots of emails thru that which keep me up to date.
Very effective way of getting in touch with students.
• I use gmail and get mail redirected
• Good idea with the divert mail to your normal email account.
• Fwd to my gmail
• Just have it forwarding to my e-mail
• Good that it can be conjoined account to hotmail
• I get my student emails forwarded to another email address
• I get my email forwarded to my gmail account because the student email system is annoying
• I got my student email forwarded to my yahoo address
• Fwd to gmail
• I have my mail forwarded to my hotmail account. I would use the student mail service more if i could
• I have all my student emails forwarded to my hotmail address
Difficult to delete emails or purge them when deleted to free up space (4 comments)
• I can't seem to delete emails.
• Need to find a way to selective purge deleted emails instead of having to purge all deleted emails.
• It was a bit confusing at first trying to figure out how to delete massages without them showing on the screen
• Its good, although the deleting emails process is unusual.
Spam is a problem (7 comments)

• The student webmail interface is old and lacks features (e.g. Can't view images in an email without
downloading them first)
• Most of the emails i receive are spam - advertisements from the university.
• Its pretty good, although i get the occasional spam mail.
• Wish it was bigger, i get daily spam which the spam programme doesn't filter out.
• I always get spammed by pure message. What the hell is that? It gets really annoying real quick!!
• I get a lot of spam mail, up to 3 or 4 emails a day that i have to delete.
• I hate spam
Don’t like the was it looks: the interface, gui etc (15 comments)
• Interface is a little dated...
• Hard to find key features.
• The interface isn't exactly pretty to look at, and not overly user-friendly either, but it gets the job done fine!
• Clunky
• Confusing to use. Could be more simple and obvious plus, can you guys make it more user friendly, like some
pro web such as msn?
• I still sometimes get lost with it. Don't really know where all the buttons are not so fancy there is no "delete"
button i am an international student i cant really think of what "compose"
• Easier to use interface
• It would be good to have a predictive type function with stored/ commonly used email addresses so you
• May be can have more layout to choose from?
• I would like it forwarded to my hotmail address as i check it more regularly, but have been warned that
• Its gui is a bit depressing.
• Its very ugly
• Would be good to have it more updated, i.e. The font used, because it is really hard to read (too spaced out).
Also be able to receive emails the way they were sent, not changed to uni email font.
• Awful interface
• Ok but had a few problems with the layout, doesn't look too good
Slow (4 comments)
• -recently has become too slow more often that it used to be!!
• Slow on some days
• Sometimes very slow though.
• A bit slow to log and load messages sometimes
24
Other negatives (23 comments)
• The address book is quite difficult to use, it needs to be more convenient
• Has been having arguments with me for the last couple of weeks. A real pain seeing its the primary
communication source with supervisors and lecturers
• I still can't figure out how to use folders...
• It's nice and fast to use, however at times the interface is fails to handle certain email formats correctly. For
example, often when i receive emails sent from a hotmail account, they are too wide for the screen and require
continuous horizontal scrolling to read. It would be massively helpful if student email had an option to
automatically modify/insert line breaks so that this doesn't happen.
• Email address is too long to be practical
• Not all messages get through.
• Need to show latest emails on first page
• It should be easier for people to forward emails to a hotmail or gmail account
• It seems to crash a lot
• Some emails don't come out properly, but do on other email providers such as hotmail
• Its confusing which emails are open or not
• It is good. However, sometimes it does not email some attachments or takes long time to send emails. For
example i got an email from another student two days after this person sent it.
• Sometimes will not let you reply or compose
• I only use it to check email addresses for professors
• Don’t like getting bulk email from classmates, ousa and class reps. I wish there was a way to make your
student email private to avoid crap piling up (because if i need a class rep, i may be blonde but i’m not an idiot i
know where to find out who they are). Sorry to be so negative but seriously!
• Annoying to use. Hotmail is much easier and more functional
• Not as good as hotmail
• I never touch mine due to spam. Uni spam and non-uni spam. Most of my non-uni spam doesn't make it past
the filter, but the filter sends you an email every day, which just adds to the 'legit' spam.
• I cant view certain emails due to "rich text format" or something along those lines
• I already have an email address so using student email is a tax
• I think in the medicine department they have had some problems with emails being rejected from forwarding
email addresses. However in general it is really handy having this feature.
• Not many spams i got so far, however, there were some times that i had emails that were sent to be delayed for
a day or two!!! Once it did not appear in my studentmail, i was very annoyed by that.
• The whole delete mail and then purge deleted mail doesn’t seem useful.
Suggestions/questions (6 comments)
• It would be nice if the university would keep the account open after students leave the uni -most of my
correspondence goes to my student address and i'm not sure how much i'll miss once i leave uni next year.
• Is there anyway to back up emails? I.e. Copy them all onto hard drive so i don't loose them when i am no
longer a student.
• Don't have to type the whole lot in or search the address book. Yahoo & google can do it. I'm sure you can too!!
• Have automatic additions to the address book, course related things such as my subject lecturers and tutors.
• Automatically saving addresses you use often to 'my address book' would be nice.
• Not many people know you can find any student/staff address - perhaps this should be better advertised...?
25
Q 24 Comments about the University printing system (115 comments)

• I like how it is easily accessible and handy to get stuff printed off.
• Good and fast
• Printing is really good, fast, reliable and a sufficient number of printer available even on a busy day
• Good prices and speed.
• The Uniprintshop is a fantastic service.
• Haven’t had a problem for a long while, That’s technology for you. I don’t mind this new zoning system, it hasn’t
affected me at all.
• Makes it very easy to do the printing i need to do, and the cost is very reasonable.
• Good, quick, wondering why they zoned the computers though
• It is okay for me
• Pretty good
• Convenient and fast
• Its pretty awesome
• Works most of the time, most of the problems i’ve had with it have been user error :p though it's too
• Print shop is great
• Fast and easy
• Very good system
• None [problems]
• Hassle-free and good.
• Sometimes have a few problems, but mostly great.
Too expensive (34 comments)

• Can get quite costly
• Gets pretty expensive after a while
• Expensive,
• Could be cheaper
• Cheaper please
• Maybe a little expensive
• Expensive, survey department it is 1c per page.
• Quite expensive
• Could be cheaper :)
• Expensive!!
• Can be a bit expensive if a largish assignment needs to be printed
• Bit expensive
• Cost should be reduced if possible
• Pricey!!!!!! $$$$$
• Should be cheaper
• Expensive!!!!!
• Expensive,
• You can buy 500 sheets for $5 so its fairly dear if you're printing lots
• Too expensive
• It will also be great if we can get a 'discount' for the printing cost for black and white documents if we are
printing many pages at one time.
• Colour printing is too costly and i cant really afford to pay so much if i’m printing many pages.
• Seems to be very expensive at 10 cents a page
• It would be nice if the price for printing could be reduced, or perhaps more usefully, if departments could pre-
load enough printing credit onto students' accounts to cover all compulsory and lecture slide printouts.
• I am curious as to why it is 20 cents per page as this does seem a bit high for a black and white copy.
• The uniprintshop is a fantastic service. Printing on campus should be the same price as over there (i.e. 7c a4
b+w)
• Only had one problem in two years
• No problems
• Fast. Quality. Cheap.
• Good tips re: the slides etc that will not print as well as good instructions for how to get around these probs
• Fast printing. Only once a printer didn’t want to print my stuff.
26
• expensive! I always print off 2 pages per sheet when i can but i still spend about $6 to $10 a week on it.
• More expensive than warehouse stationery. Not sure why..
• Handy, maybe cheaper
• And make colour printing cheaper... Maybe charge on the amount of ink used not pages printed because
some pages don’t use colour.
Duplex Please (7 comments)

• Why not provide double sided printing
• can only print on one side of the paper which makes me have to use more paper
• Unable to do double sided pages without inconveniences
• Seems a little pricey and it would be good if we had the option of double-siding documents to save paper.
Currently this can only be done by printing to the uni print shop which is a real pain.
• Would really like to be able to do duplex printing without having to go all the way to uniprint, it is too
• Duplex printing would be awesome
• Are you able to print on both sides of the paper? That would be good so that you wouldn't have to carry around
have a tree for notes in your bag.
Why the zones? (6 comments)

• Don’t like the new printing system where you can only print to certain computers. Inconvenient.
• Less errors than before, awesome. Will be great if we can print stuff from anywhere within the campus.
• Often prints only the first few pages. And having this "zone" idea is annoying. What was wrong with being able
to print in one place then pick it up later from another printer.
• Don't like the new system where printing is split up into zones
• With the introduction of the new printing zone, very annoying because it has cause interruptions and delay in
printing.
• Why can you only print in a zone now?
Takes the money but no printout (5 comments)

• Sometimes wont print and still takes your credit away not cool.
• There have been a few times where an error has screwed up my printing but i haven’t bothered going through
the process just to claim a small amount of money back.
• I have had problem printing on the colour printers when they don’t print colour or the printers take your money
and don’t print anything
• Sometimes they don’t print but take your money but that rarely happens.
• Printer always take up the money and never print a page, for no reasons!
Printer Refunds (3 comments)

• I have had quite a few jobs only print a few pages, or print none at all yet charge me. I emailed printer.refund
and got it back, but it was a hassle and luckily my assignment was not due in the next hour!
• Is quite fast. Sometimes have problems though, is a hassle to write an email for a refund.
• Mostly good but have also had to request money refunds a couple of times. Sometimes my documents don’t
print and the money is still taken off my card.
Staplers (2 comments)
• I appreciate staplers at the stations. I have never had a problem with the printers
• Staplers!
Autoloader (4 comments)
• The self-loading top up machines could be able to top up with less than $5
• I like how you can top up your printing credit with your eftpos card at the stand in the library. I have only had a
few problems with printing - but that was more that the computer froze that i was trying to do it on.
• Wish i could top up my print credit online!!
• Would like to see more places to add money to your card to print
Slow (4 comments)
• Sometimes also the printers take a very long time to print pdf files (for example, one minute per page),
especially when a downloaded journal article is printed multiple-pages-per-sheet
• Sometimes slow. Quality is good
• Sometimes printers are very slow when printing pdf files
• Sometimes printers start printing one page at a time then a delay and takes ages especially when I have a
heap to print
27
Unreliable/out of paper (7 comments)
• Over all I have no problems. Just sometimes when you are running a little late and you really need to print
something and the printer is either out of paper or not responding things can get a little frustrating but usually
the yellow's can fix these problems.
• It is acceptable, but sometimes it is frustrating when they crap out when you really need to print off an
assignment that’s due.
• Sometimes no paper
• The printing quality is good. It's just that sometimes when paper run out in the printer and no staff available to
refill it, i cant get my printing and the system charged me for that.
• I am reasonably happy with the printers, occasionally running out of paper or break down but are fixed pretty
quickly
• Normally very good and accessible.. Sometimes run out of paper and there is know one around to help out
• E-stop printers often have run out of paper
Suggestions (5 comments)
• Quality isn't as good as it could be. I'd suggest getting some Ricoh machines in.
• I think first year students would benefit from a quick tutorial about how to print multiple slides on one sheet, as
this was a big problem in our class when we first started
• Pretty sweet really. Although a student colour printer in the commerce building would be nice.
• Possibly more colour printing printers
• I often print things i have completed on laptop or home computers at university. Maybe there should be a
service to plug in usb storage and print directly, without logging into the network. Does such a system exist?
This would save my time and reduce network traffic.
General negatives (29 comments)

• Much hassle!
• Print out material fast but when busy can freeze
• Often the library swipecard printers don’t work from the library catalogue computers. Really annoying.
• Catalogue computers are good as you don’t have to log in to a slow library computer to get to Blackboard
• Sometimes the page comes out looking terrible, with lines over it, ruins assignments
• Sometimes its malfunctions and i lose my $$ when some pages are lost...
• Printing error sometimes
• Microsoft Word always gives an extra blank page [even] when I’ve backspaced it away....
• Not enough printers in peak times
• Have had trouble printing some pdf files, not the printers fault. I blame adobe, any company that develops
software that large for so simple a task is doomed to failure.
• The printer in west cal often seems to be out of order. If its not, often it won't print even if it has received the
print job and spend even more money.
• The printer in West cal was really slow in the beginning of the year: Got better after the change to the new one.
• Sometimes, they print one page at a time, so one has to wait for about 2-3mins per page
• Burns usually out of ink or paper, mainly after hours
• Commerce building printers are pretty slow
• Bit variable in the uoce tower/enterprise labs. Often very slow!
• Will often not print all of my pages when printing pdf and ppt
• Have own printer
• I get confused with the coding in the science library where it appears to me that i could print anyone’s
documents i have to scroll to find mine.
• I have lost several item when i am trying to print and i have done things right.
• Connection between student laptop and lab printers fails sometime. This is annoying.
• Sometimes doesn’t print for no apparent reason
• Often, they don't print my work, or they print at a tiny unusable detail and still charge me. Can't print to colour
printer at a3 size, will only work at a4 from mapping library computers!. ~often breaks down and fails
• Very slow to print on some lecturer's slides. Perhaps give lecturers guidelines on how to make pdf's that don’t
take 30s to print each page? (or tell them to use msword)
• Sometimes the printer colours are faded
• The only annoying thing that happens sometimes is when i reduce the margins of a document it will print out in
a small section on the piece of paper. This is probably just my noob attempts at resizing a document though.
• It's awful to print when using the printer that needs swipe card. It's hard to fine your own document. You can
see all other people's documents and possibly print them by mistake.
• Can be frustrating when a printer is out of action for multiple days.
• Printers -especially the one in the science library - often are faulty
28
Q 26 Comments about eStops (87 responses)

• Estops are great because there are enough for everyone and around the university
• Handy
• In cases of hurry, these are awesome. Especially when running a little late to a lecture.
• Quick
• Very convenient for quick stops when you are just looking to print something or check e-mails (student e-mails)
• Good
• Good for emergencies
• Nearly always one free: nobody abuses the whole "quick jobs" idea.
• When in a hurry and cant be bothered queuing
• Good idea , quick and easy if you just need to print of lectures before class.
• New ones in hunter are good
• Pretty useful
• Estops are good.. Good for on the go. Idea that the library should consider is having those computer systems
that they have in the med library where you don’t have to log in to use the computer this would be a lot efficient
for students!! :d
• User friendly, ergo friendly
• I didn’t know about these
• Very good
• I really like the estops, they are very convenient.
• Very accessible and convenient
Speed up log in please (42 comments)

• A bit slow at times
• Some estops take a long time to load after logging in
• Sometime took so long to log on
• They take a very long time to long in which is frustrating when you are only doing something that will take 5
minutes!
• Usually freaking slow.
• It's just a bit of a bummer having to log in, which can take some time.
• It would be great if at least some computers were available with limited software for printing / checking email
and therefore didn't require long log-on times. It seems at times a hassle to use a quick "e-stop" when you
spend 80% of your time logging on and off.
• Log on times are often very slow which kind of defies the purpose of quickly stopping to check emails
• Please can you make logging into the estops faster. I often spend more time logging in than actually on the
computer and sometimes i have already finished what i'm doing and have to wait for it to finish logging in so i
can log out. Normally use estops to print off assignments which only takes a few seconds.
• Take ages to log on
• Logging in and out sometimes takes way too long to make the e stops useful. Sometimes i've stood for over
five minutes waiting for the computer to log in.
• Log on times!
• Once logged in they work well but often logging in and loading personal settings etc can take upwards of 5 min
in the central and castle e-stops in particular. This is a really long time when you only need to do a 5-10 min job
• Sometimes its not that quick as it takes ages to log in

• Take to long to log on
• It can take a long to log on.
• Long login time
• They take far too long to log on so kind of defeat the purpose of being a way to do a job quickly.
• They can be slow to start up and take ages to do there thing loading, i can log on check e-mails, print and log
off before they even get into the loading stuff
• Still, the speed, only if they can log in faster
• Should have faster logins
• I spend more time waiting for log in than i do printing my lecture material
• Start up speed (at log in)is a problem if you only want to just quickly check your emails.
• It would be really handy if the estop in hunter were like the med library computers where you don’t need to take
forever logging in just to check your emails etc.
• Too slow and too many people use them.
• It takes as much time as other computers to log on makes no sense to use them.
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• It is hardly an 'e-stop' when it takes 5 mins to log in!!!!!!
• Useful for short term use, but can take ages to load profiles so can be made redundant.
•
• I feel they should be the fastest of all the computers as they are used to access information when your in a
hurry to get to class
• Takes a long time to log into these computers
• Some times really slow at loading up
• Can't be bothered logging in just to check email so very rarely bother. If i really feel the need to check email on
campus, i use the Macs in the tower lab.
• If only we could log in a bit faster
• Perhaps the estops could be made to load faster, it is pretty frustrating if you need to check your email or
blackboard to have to sit through the usual start-up process. These computers could be permanently logged in,
requiring only username/password to gain access to the internet or s: directory
• It takes quite a while so sometime it doesn't seem worth it.
• Maybe make them faster to log on. I mean, you could make a different profile for estops, right? Some
• without so many programs and leave the essentials there, increasing log on speed. Maybe use one browser,
the basic msoffice programs and less course specific apps.
• Lol, i spend longer logging on to those things than using it!
• Take too long to log in
• If they could log in faster, that would be nice. Who really needs Photoshop when they've only got 5 minutes..?
• Using them now. They start far too slow to use standing up. Though this gripe really belongs in a more general
text box. Here the problem is worse.
People spend too long on them (5 comments)

• Often hard to find a free one. They are a great idea. Just some people use the eStops for a little too long...
• They are normally always being used but there’s no difference between the sitting down computers i don’t think
• Maybe if a tall stool could be provided as i can't stand up for very long
• People use them like normal computers (more than 10 mins)
• Is there a way to keep the tasks that are done at the estops short. Sometimes i have been waiting to do quick
tasks while several people are spending much longer on social networking websites. Surely these people could
be made to wait for a sit down machine.
Would like a stool (5 comments)

• I do not like using them, often it is because i cannot get a sit-down computer when i really need one.
• Don’t use them much but would be nice to have a chair available (just in case)
• Don’t use these much as i like to sit down but good when i use them
• I'm quite short so sometimes the desks are a bit annoying to stand at
• Need stools
• They are all PC and I am a Mac user!!!
• Would be good if there was more of them
• More please!
General Negatives (15 comments)

• Slow; not many (if any)
• These get really dirty
• Not good for my wrists lol.
• Except when some rank first year logs you out when your off to find a book. Yes I was under 15mins.
• However these need to be better policed to get rid of the people who just use them for games, Facebook and
Bebo.
• They are good because you can find them everywhere. It is usually easy to find one available, except from the
ones of the central library.
• Can often be difficult to find one during busy times, which rather defeats the purpose, but i don't think making
more available would be likely to solve that. Very handy to have them.
• Just annoying when you can't get to one asap (esp. When you need it) or when people push in front of you in
the queue but that's life
• Castle would be better with desk than shredded mouse pads
• I would like more computers like those in the science library that you don't have to log on to in order to print
what i need faster.
• Often quite busy.
30
• As long as people aren’t hanging around on them for ages!
• During crowded times too many people using the ones near the library for facebook and bebo etc - not good if
you don't have much time i.e. If you want to print a lecture before going to class.
• Need more - i.e. St. Davids building, link
31
Q 28 Comments about after hours access to computer labs (71 responses)
• The after hours access computer labs are really useful...I prefer going to Hercus because of the big desktop
screens
• Great for all-nighters!
• The best part of all computing resources.
• don’t use but I hear it is good
• I think that it is great being able to access computers after hours or when ever you want especially if you don’t
have a computer or internet at your flat/house
• excellent as this is when most students study-a 24 hour library would be good to
• Good
• Otherwise all good.
• really good
• GOOD FOR ASSIGMENTS
• Great idea, keep it that way
• handy!
• Great
• Really good
• only used a couple of times and have had no problems
• Very important..
• Hunter centre!
• Honestly didn’t know it existed. Will use now I know and when I am pressed for time during the day
• Makes a great change for the all-nighters from the noisy flatting environment.
• it is not too bad
• Handy
• really good for assignments and last minute things.
• I love it that Burns is 24/7 as I like working late at night where it is a lot more quiet and less distracting than
during the day. It is also really handy foe people who do not have computers at home so don’t have the chance
to do their work at all hours. Makes it very convenient. I love them.
• Never had any trouble in all my years at uni.
Noisy/bad behaviour (12 comments)

• sometimes noisy at night.
• except for the few annoying individuals who decide to have a picnic in the computer room
• It is very secure as everyone have to use their ID card swiped to gain access into computer rooms.
• But, at night, when no staff around, it will be quite noisy, and many students eat, drink and chat very loudly
• Noisy sometimes! But good overall
• great except for drunk ppl have access also
• It's often to see a group or groups of people just keep chatting make the computer room like a seminar room for
them.
• People in those room who are just there for a chat and to play games shouldn’t be in there. The Sci lib
especially terrible for this.
• I usually go to Hercus cal lab but there are too many ppl there every night.
• No problems about this. Just the people that use computers after hours generally just slack around.
• The rooms are used quite a lot so I suppose its good as I see it become quite crowded sometimes.
• People eating is a problem.
Temperature/ventilation (4 comments)
• need to monitor the room environment in burns cal more... because sometimes its like a sauna!
• Need to turn the damn heaters off when it gets hot... even if it is not summer officially
• Just you often keep the air con on at night when its freezing in burns!
• no comments, except that they are not warm enough..
Card doesn’t work (6 comments)

• I can never get in when I need to
• Sometimes, the door can not open. Don't know why.
• although swipe card is annoying but its necessary so cant really complain
• have had problems gaining access with id and pin at times
• People don't know they are available/how to use them
32
• Sometimes can’t get into Comp labs with swipe card and am unsure why this happens, mostly can fine though
Forgot pin (4 comments)

• I only realised how much I used after hours access till I forgot my pin and couldn’t get in.
• lost my pin after first week and didn’t know how to get a new one
• I have absolutely no idea what my after hours pin number is, I must have lost it on the first day. Maybe it would
be helpful if you had a sign somewhere saying "this is how you get your after hours pin if you have lost it....".
Maybe there is this, maybe I'm just a blind noob.
• I keep losing my pin number, so can never get in...
Toilet access – Burns (3 comments)

• However one thing about Burns, how come you always have to go outside and go into the back entrance. Why
aren’t the entry near the disability comps never open. It would also be cool if there was a drinking fountain
nearby or if there is could someone tell me. Apart from that no complaints.
• where is toilet for Burns CAL after hours ?
• Toilet access in Burns would be good!
Suggestions/Questions (11 comments)

• Is after hours at Hunter centre not available yet?
• Hunter should have 24 hour access.
• Being able to access your entry pin somewhere online? I had to go and get mine again from ID card office.
• More clarity as to when there are evening classes in Hercus would be helpful. Also, when is the Physio lab
opening again?
• Where are they? which rooms can we use?
• More signposting that they are available would be good
• A bit more thought on placement. Some are nearly always full and some are nearly always empty.
• it is great having after hours access to computer rooms!! It would be nice if everyone had access to commerce
rooms as they are the only ones I am aware of with the 'group rooms' with the ability to connect the computers
and work in group assignments together.
• Waiting on hunter cal to be available after hours
• There should be more, as they often fill up after the library closes. Some are not quiet enough, especially at
Hercus
• Only suggestion is that at least one after hours computer room should have facilities for loading money onto
your account for printing, or would it be possible to set up a site where you could direct debit money from your
bank account onto you student account.
General negative (7 comments)

• It is a pain to get in and out, and there should be more computer labs open!!!
• Sometimes cant get into certain rooms, probably due to not being a full time student
• I have never been made aware if all computer rooms are available to all students, or if only certain ones were
available depending on your degree subject. Have only used this once and it was alright.
• the computer service people are not available after hours
• usually I will use the computers while I’m around university during the day otherwise I use my own computer at
my flat
• it would be better if there is more cal lab available (like Scott or hunter)
• it would be nice to be able to access the Cals in Commerce after hours even if you are not a commerce student
33
Q 46 The main reason why you use your laptop at the University (210 respondents)
Taking lecture notes (2 comments)

• Lecture notes and research
• Easy to put notes on, get lecture slides, and search the net without having to move a lot while studying
Privacy (4 comments)
• Convenience and privacy
• Personalised, guaranteed access any time and storage
• Just privacy and stuff and easier organisation more storage
• Feel like i am working on my own
Don’t have to queue for a student computer (1 comment)

• Much easier than finding a computer to use.
Can choose my study space. (6 comments)

• Group work
• Avoiding the inevitable loud computer in any cal that can be very distracting
• I can work in my own office (post grad. Students' room)
• Ease, don’t have to be in a computer room.
• Sit where you like then and convenience of programs
• To study with in the library in a quieter place (rather than in noisy computer rooms)
Admin access/use own programs (5 comments)
• Can use my own programs
• I have administrator access to my laptop
• Customised to my liking, faster
• It has the tools I need, and doesn't have a horrible interface. Also Scissor keys for the win.
• I like it better, set out the way I like, can play music
Easy to take files home (5 comments)

• Easy to take files home
• Has all my files and i can take it home with me once i have finished with the internet
• Saves having to copy everything onto USB plus can work everywhere
• I use it at home for essays
• Takes less time, can save things to use later
Other (8 comments)
• Means I have more room to spread out books and notes around computer
• Easier to listen to music
• Assignments
• I prefer to work on a computer when studying
• For writing long essays
• Do not have internet access at home
• Just for looking up random things that interest me.
• more space to have books and documents when trying to write an essay
All of the above (2 comments)

• All of the above
• Convenience of a number of the above
• If you can change the security mode to wap1, I can use my PDA instead of the heavy notebook
34
Q 47 Comments about our services. (109 Respondents)
General compliments (48 comments)

• Quite good helpful
• Generally great all around!
• I feel that the services are awesome that they use here at Otago university. Keep up the good work
• It’s much better than the services at Auckland University!
• Overall, pretty good. We appreciate your work!!
• Fantastic
• Overall, the staff has been really friendly and helpful, thank you
• Generally really good to use,
• I’m done with uni and don’t know what ill do without the systems i've had here.
• Way underrated, esp. E-journals.
• Over all I am very happy with all the services that I use at the university.
• Good work, keep it up.
• Normally very good, thank you
• Thanks overall good
• Generally good..
• Very impressed with the level service and the amount of help available.
• Overall the IT service is pretty good, cheers!
• The computer rooms are really great for someone who doesn’t own a laptop like me.
• Thanks for all the work you guys do!!!
• Helpdesk was awesome. When my pen drive turned an essay I had done into gibberish they managed to
retrieve a copy somehow and as it was due in hours later this was a massive relief. Kudos
• They are good overall, some of the services require minor changes
• A well-oiled machine (I'm not just saying that). Don't change a thing.
• Computers are good
• Overall very good
• Good service.
• There is every day something new you can read from this website and I really like it
• But It is good to have access to computers in many places in Uni.
• When I use them I find the University IT department services to be adequate, but that doesn't mean that there
couldn't be room for improvement.
• On the whole, all good service wise!!! Keep it up!!!
• IT services are pretty good overall though and are constantly being improved which is good.
• I've been at Otago for nearly 8 years and in that time I have never been let down by IT services at Otago Uni.
Thanks.
• Generally a good service thank you
• Not too bad actually
• Overall, you guys are doing a good job
• IT services are fantastic!
• Thanks
• I love you all!
• You guys rock!
• Very good services all up. I am very impressed.... Cheers IT
• I like the services provided.
• Overall very good.
• Excellent services. Especially the IT Help desk, very funny people and also quite helpful.
• Overall computer labs at uni are great. Good access, good services, easy to use, Macs and pcs etc. I do think
that all students should have access to all computer labs that are open 24/7, not just the ones relevant to their
course.
• I have always found when I have trouble with my lap top the IT help desk (central) is very helpful keep up the
good work :)
• Used its main help desk today and although they could not solve they were extremely helpful and offered lots of
options.
• [The website?] It is quite interesting and helpful
• You guys are the best and make my life just that little bit more bearable
• Excellent work - mostly things tick over pretty nicely.
35
Slow Logins (12 comments)
• Logging in takes too long
• Log-in time is too long.
• Shorter login times would be great.
• The computers take far too long to log in
• Login takes forever, about 2 to 5min.
• Only if the logging speed can be a little bit faster
• When logging on, the computers or system are quite slow
• It takes too long to log the computers in.
• The time it takes to go from login to a usable desktop is very frustrating... Can take like 5 minutes sometimes.
Get rid of all the novel netware popup info if possible.
• This Novell start up crap is terrible. These computers take an excessive amount of time logging in. Often I will
complete the task I came to do before it has finished, despite completion bars stealing focus, and that ugly grey
scale image covering everything. By the way, who on earth uses Dark Basic?
• Overall the service is good but sometimes when trying to get log in, the whole computer freezes and have to
restart few times to get it going.
• The log-on time for desktops is unacceptable (except for the Macs),
Faster estop logins (1 comment)

• Log on times are a bit of a hassle but not too bad most of the time. More of a nuisance if you are using an e-
stop and merely want to print / check email.
Internet Slow (5 comments)

• Please make the internet connection faster, often it doesn't even work.
• And you should increase the internet speed also may be about at least 500kbs, currently its average 200kbs
which is acceptable, but I just want it to be faster I know this suggestion is not so outrageous, you guys sure
can make it
• Increased internet speed and
• Internet speed is too slow.
• The internet connection needs to be a LOT faster though...
More Computers (3 comments)

• Please add more computers and have more computer labs open after hours.
• It would be nice if there were also computers available for use at the Student Learning Centre
• Computers are good in central library. Maybe more desktop computers are needed during peak human traffic
time like after a lecture. Just to decrease lining up times.
Netstorage slow (1 comments)

• Netstorage upload speeds from home is terribly slow ( takes a minute to upload a 300kb word document).
Faster to upload to student email instead.
Lab Cleaning/Environment (7 comments)

• The library catalogue computer keyboards need cleaning. Keep cleaning the keyboards because they get scum
pretty quickly.
• I would like you to think about the environment of computer rooms, because some computer rooms are quite
smelly and do not get cleaned [well].
• But things regarding computer stuff is good in my books and the cleanliness is rooms are acceptable. And
drinking fountains and toilet amenities should be easily accessible and close by to all labs preferably for me,
burns. Because other places like central, st daves, Richardson and hunter are all inside and do not need to go
outside and back in again to go to the toilet.
• E-stops of often have filthy keyboards – especially Link
• People who talk in the computer rooms. Is there anyway to deal with this. Some people have no idea of what is
acceptable
• The computers are often dirty, and the bench space.
• I reckon there should be cleaners do regular keyboard and desk wipe on all the ITS computers because they
are full of germs and bacteria.
Lab Temperature/ventilation (5 comments)

• Adjust/ fix the room temperature in BURNS cal!
• Computer rooms are always way too hot (Burns)
• Sometimes in the Mac room of tower block the air conditioning is too cold. Other than that everything is fine.
• I sometimes think that the air-conditioning could be slightly better
36
• With regards to the room temperature of the computer rooms, their coolness is perfect, and should be kept at
this temperature.
Lab Furniture/maintenance (4 comments)

• The chairs are quite comfy but many are broken. I also get sore wrists using keyboards if the wee stand-up
clips are broken and I'm unable to prop them up on something else.
• Could the chairs in central library please be fixed, a lot of them are broken.
• Some of the chairs in the computer area of the main library have weird back angles that can't seem to be
changed
• (Chairs in front of helpdesk in library) however, can you give replace all the chairs with the auto lifting one,
some of them are, but some of them are still normal chairs cause I feel like really hard to write because I am a
quite tall guy, so I will need an small chair.
After hours Access (1 comment)

• The after hours access is by far a favourite of mine.
More power outlets for laptops (11 comments)

• Not enough power supplies in the central library (or any where else), especially around exam times it can be a
mission to find a power outlet, and if unlucky not to find a spare one, you cant do your work!!!!
• Need more power plugs in the library and need to make wireless net better.
• Also since there are so few power points at the library can it be made ILLEGAL for someone who does not
have a laptop to sit at a power supply. That is really annoying. Could we have more power supplies by the
windows where there is a view and some natural light. I would also like to see confiscation of laptops for all
those rude people who leave there laptops in the lib while they go off to a lecture. Maybe then they might learn
that to share is to care. Thank you.
• There needs to be more spaces/plugs! For laptops at the library and the wireless internet is shit (disconnects all
the time)
• Generally excellent, there just needs to be more power points for laptops
• Please set up more power points around the campus and library so that we can use our laptop anywhere.
• Its the 21st century make wireless cover most of the campus. Although the number of Power sockets around
the link area is adequate, there could always be more. And there definitely need to be more power sockets in
the library, not just in the honeycomb area.
• Sometimes I can't connect my lap top to wireless, which prevents me from doing a lot of my work. Also, it is
frustrating that there are so few power plugs in the link.
• Really would be good to have power access throughout the central library and med libraries. The hunter centre
is what every area of the uni should be aiming towards - it has internet points and power plus everywhere.
Really good.
• The main concerns I have are with there not being enough adequate power supplies situated throughout the
library for laptop users.
• Really need more connections and power supply outlets at Central- impossible to find during busy periods.
Wireless (14 comments)

• It would be great to have wireless internet coverage in the Tower (education) as this is where I spend most of
my time and currently have to go to the library to use my laptop.
• I have heaps of problems with wireless internet cutting out on my laptop at uni. This is only a problem here and
no where else that I use wireless i.e. Cafes, at home etc.
• In general I feel the computer services are really good, particularly the availability of wireless.
• Sometimes I find the wireless connection to my laptop annoying in that often you have to disconnect/reconnect
to get it working. Also setting up wireless for a laptop with XP the booklet says 'You need Service Pack 3 - go to
http://www.......' Which is all very well... But what if you don’t have an internet connection to start with to
download the service pack from!!
• My real issue is with wireless. Its quite heavy to carry laptop around and when internet doesn’t work.. Very
frustrating.
• Overall the services you provide are great. If you can install more wireless access points in the library so that
the internet is useable then that would be fantastic.!
• Please sort out the wifi for next year, please!
• Wireless in the Central Library is very unreliable. It constantly disconnects and the signal is highly variable.
Everyone I have spoken to experiences the same problems and the sporadic nature of it has led me to use the
desktops if I need to access the internet.
• Wireless in Bill Robertson is pretty variable. Don't know that wired is a practical or cost effective solution. It is
good to have wireless there now but I would like internet to be a bit more reliable. Would also like to be able to
use my own laptop in the Tower/Enterprise labs at times - i.e. Somewhere to plug in an Ethernet cable
37
• Wireless internet for laptops is useless
• Wireless speed is too slow
• Wireless is so unreliable that I have started avoiding bringing my laptop!
• I have had a lot of trouble with wireless access at central library, with the signal constantly dropping out. I have
circumvented this problem by using a connection whenever I am able.
• Main library’s wireless internet connection isn't very good.
Macs Issues (3 comments)

• As a Mac user it is frustrating to come into Burns and not have a computer free, there are so few on campus
that are easily accessible.
• Although I said I like Macs, I meant I like the machines. I prefer to use windows interface on a Mac computer.
• Apart from slow log-in speeds, my main issue is with the Macs in Burns and West. I prefer to use Mac, but
accessing my S: drive is awkward and inconvenient (and sometimes the "Display S Drive" dock icon isn't
visible), and the default download location for itunes U, Safari etc is not my S: drive, meaning it's easy to
inadvertently save files or bookmarks on the local Mac instead of the on my S: drive. If this issue could be
solved they would be far more of a pleasure to use.
SPAM (1 comment)
• I get a lot of SPAM over the university email - which is forwarded to my home email.... PUTTING A
DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM SAYING I CAN DELETE IT IF IT IS NOT USEFUL DOES *NOT* MEAN IT
ISN'T SPAM...
Staff (5 comments)
• It would be good if there were more ITS staff available for assistance at any one time....but
• Also could the supervisors please supervise more, a lot of people eat food around the comps which is gross
and not allowed, if there was more of a presence this would stop, also helping to find un-used computers during
the busy times (usually on the o'clock between classes) Thanks :-)
• Also it would be great if we had less of the yellow jackets and more of the guys (and the 2 ladies) that sit in the
help desk area. Now they are helpful! (but often very busy). Or have some smart yellow jackets...
• ITS helpdesk staff are excellent, yellow jackets dodgy.
• DO NOT give power to powerless types unless you are sure they have been to behaviour mod camp.
Group Study Room (2 comments)

• Also, the group room in Burns - is that for group work (i.e. Allow talking). It would be great to see some/all
group rooms with computers in them so groups can talk and do work on the computer without having to bring in
their own laptop, or being shushed in computer rooms. Where are groups supposed to talk while using a
computer?
• Regarding noise, I wish that there could be group computer rooms around campus so people who are working
on group projects can go in a room and talk to their hearts content. Its really annoying when a group of people
sit next to you and they talk so loudly like no one else is in the room. I know they need to discuss things but it
would be great if they could go somewhere else to do that.
S Drive space (5 comments)

• The storage size on the PC is too small. I can hardly save anything on the PC. I am a design student and often
need to use the PC to work on my stuff. Too small.
• Finally, could S: drive storage space be doubled or quadrupled? There is not enough space to save one
semester's worth of powerpoint slides & PDF handouts, let alone downloaded journal articles etc.
• Hope you can allow for more space in student email for students staying at Uni for 5+years. We need to have
more memory for our individual accounts.
• Your S:Drive space is way too small
• The amount of space on the file server is massively inadequate - my course related documents take about 4G
per semester! ..and I can't even store the stuff I'm currently working on... I have to use Google documents,
which is slow!!
Update software (1 comment)

• The university doesn't seem to update it's software that often - for example, Internet Explorer 8 is now available
in beta mode yet the university still has IE 6 on its system. I have also become so used to Microsoft Office 2007
at home that I get confused when I use the old software on university computers.
Update hardware (1 comment)

• Overall very good, but computer hardware needs an upgrade
38
Random suggestions or questions (26 comments)
• People need to know that there are so many more computer areas than central. Glad I finally figured that out.
Its not your fault some people are in fact stupid and willing to line up for 15 minutes.
• Would be great to have access to topo-map software!
• Do the supervisors in the yellow jackets help out with course stuff e.g. Helping with graphs?
• It would be good if you kept your software up to date. E.g. Windows vista instead of xp. If that's not possible, at
least have updated browsers. IE 6 is pathetic compared to IE 7, and Firefox 3 has great improvements over
Firefox 2
• Cap YouTube traffic and there'd be a lot more free computers for course work
• The computers in North CAL should have the monitors lowered so that the top is eye level i've strained my
neck looking up at them all the time.
• Not very impressed with the huge screens in St Davids and Hercus I think its a bit excessive.
• If I am to use the student :S drive for storage how do I do that I don't really understand the concept
• Not impressed with old computers in new Hunter building
• One thing that annoys me is how rude people are when they are next to you talking loudly when you are trying
to complete an assignment. I’m not the noise police but it would be nice if people are more strict about this. I
know that this cant always be monitored and it can be seen as impinging on peoples freedom to speak but
sometimes the noise is just unacceptable. I don’t mind a bit of chitchat but sometimes it goes too far.
• Queue jumpers annoy me heaps. Maybe install like a flashing light for students to press once they finished on
pc's so its easier to know what pc is free, instead of having to tell the first in line or wandering around to find
one
• Should get better cell phone reception in computer room in central library, should have better wireless range.
• When I log onto a Mac I have to use my old password which is strange, but when using the Mac when asked
for my username and password it is my usual password that works.
• Changing the security mode to suit the pda user will be adorable!
• I think it would be a good idea to support some Linux distributions
• E.g. Maybe a .deb package file that would install the necessary WPA2 protocols and setup the university proxy
settings. This would make wireless setup much easier for anyone using Ubuntu or another debian-based Linux
distribution.
• More Power points for computers. Sometimes I may have 4 lectures one after the other, my computer battery
dies in about an hour and a half, this is very taxing if I do not have anywhere within the lecture theatre to plug it
in. I tried using my laptop to take notes in st daves but it died halfway through my lecture. Slightly annoying.
• For space and energy savings, it would be worth while to investigate, changing from computer rooms, to giving
everyone a basic laptop for their time here and reducing the current energy usage.
• TURN the computers of at night to save power!!!!!!!!!!!
• Improve the LAN connection in the med library. I would prefer to use that but it is so difficult to find any if there
are
• Should think a way to avoid excessive uses of internet on university i.e. Games, online movies, download
videos/musics
• I suggest you guys use Opera browser
• And why is Firefox not on all computers by default. There are still occasions when I have to wait for Firefox to
be loaded onto the computer before I can use it.
• The number of computers at dental and medical libraries are particularly inadequate for the amount of use from
students. Always there have been hassles for students to find a computer to use.
• Not very well publicized. It would be good if ITS information, particularly relating to software available through
the university, was part of an information pack mailed to new students.
• I fell that at the library a lot of the computers are being used for non-course related work. It may be something
worth considering to have an area in the library where the computers are only connected to the local intranet so
that students who have to write an essay or lab report using books in closed reserve but don't own a laptop can
use these instead.. Just a suggestion.
Best suggestion!
• It seems really silly having printed out probably a gazillion little fliers asking to do this survey when the massive
computer screen on the wall in Hunter is just scrolling "please move mouse to log in". Wouldn’t this be a better
use of resources? You could put up any kind of propaganda you liked on that screen. Just saying.
39

Student IT Services - Survey Report - September 2008: Conducted Between Monday 19 September and Sunday 6 October 2008

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Student IT Services - Survey Report - September 2008

Conducted between Monday 19 September and Sunday 6 October 2008.

2008 Survey Details .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Changes this year

• Rebranding from Student Computing Services to Student IT Services

Quick Summary of Results

Do you own a laptop? Yes No

Q 20 Comments about the Tutor Supervisors (85 responses)

Q 22 Comments about student email (110 responses)

Q 24 Comments about the University printing system (115 comments)

• Compliments (19 comments) Uniprint is fantastic

General negatives (29 comments)

• Speed up log in please (42 comments)

Q 28 Comments about after hours access to computer labs (71 responses)

• Compliments (24 comments)

• Can choose my study space. (6 comments)

Q 47 Comments about our services. (109 Respondents)

• General compliments (49 comments)

Location Access Type Building Floor Hours Number Printer

Richardson Law Lib

SITS Computer Numbers

• 318 students completed this survey online this year

1 What is your year of study?

2 Where do you use computers the most?

3. What time of day do you most often use a computer?

Before noon Noon - 5pm 5pm onwards

4. What day of the week did you fill this out?

Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun

Comparisons between 2007 and 2008

Changes 07 to 08 Daily Weekly Monthly Rarely Never

Looking at just the Daily, Weekly and Monthly sections,

Not so Not so Never Never

Changes 07 to 08 Excellent Good Acceptable Not so Good Useless Never used

The figures indicate that:

Computer Area Response Percent

Arts Burns or Group Study Room 12

North (opposite Science Library) 4

West (Physical Education Building) 2

I am using my laptop at university 4

I am completing this at home 6

42 When using your own laptop, is mains power supply an issue?

A proper computer lab desk 42

45. Do you use your laptop for course work?

46. Main reason why you use your laptop at University?

Other, please specify

Q 18 Comments about the University Internet speed (190 responses)

Really Slow (7 comments)

Intermittent (113 comments)

Logins (to internet or to computer) are slow (8 responses)

Wireless issues (15 responses)

Specific Issues (13 Comments)

Q 20 Comments about the Tutor Supervisors (85 responses)

Complimentary (50 comments)

Compliments (25 comments)

Need more space (15 comments)

I forward mine to another account (19 comments)

Spam is a problem (7 comments)

Compliments (19 comments)

Too expensive (34 comments)

Duplex Please (7 comments)

Why the zones? (6 comments)

Takes the money but no printout (5 comments)

Printer Refunds (3 comments)