2016 UBIT student experience results

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Published March 12, 2017 This content is archived.

By Kenneth Kashif Thomas

For 20 years, UBIT’s annual student survey has provided insight into how UB students interact with technology on a daily basis. In October 2016, over 4,300 UB students from every school and class standing took the survey. Here’s what they told us.

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Kenneth.

Kenneth Kashif Thomas (UB Student, Class of 2017) is an Economics major with an interest in Journalism. He is the 2016-17 Senior Features Editor of the UB Spectrum student newspaper.

Daily drivers

  • 92% of UB students own a laptop, up slightly from 2015. Laptops are also the primary devices on which UB students complete assignments and take notes in class.
  • 63% of UB students use Windows on their primary computer; 31% use Mac OS.
  • 59% of UB students surveyed use iPhones, up from 51% in 2015. 37% of students use Android. 

Devices in the classroom

An average of 34% of students expressed interest in using their mobile devices during class for activities like responding to clicker questions, collaborating with classmates, notetaking and presenting in class.

24% of students noted that they take at least one class where their instructor doesn’t allow them to use their mobile device in class.

IT spaces and services

Satisfaction with the UBIT Help Center—which has expanded this year to include the on-location Tech Squad—has increased by 8 percent, from 19 to 27 percent.

As far as public computing sites, students say that access to printing and power outlets are the biggest assets. With a proliferation of personal laptops, students said that access to seating remains their biggest problem not only in computing sites, but elsewhere on UB's campus.

One of UB’s newest IT services, UBbox, which offers free, unlimited cloud storage, has gained popularity on campus in its first year; over 75% of students are already aware of it, and over 22,000 UB students, faculty and staff currently use the service.

Learn more

You can read a summary of this year’s UBIT student survey findings online. You can also find the raw data, including open-ended comments, from the 2016 survey.

For specific inquiries about data, including specific segmentation for school, class standing, residence hall or more, email ubit-communication@buffalo.edu.

Read the executive summary