Instructor Survey Findings

Dear faculty colleagues,

We sent a survey to all instructors last week to help us gauge how classes were going and understand broadly the issues you are facing. I’m writing to share some of the key findings.

More than 1,200 instructors responded to the survey and the responses indicate what you might expect. Some faculty are experiencing issues with technology — internet connectivity, Zoom breakout rooms and audio and slow processing of recorded lectures. Others are worried about student engagement, accommodations, and the mental health of our students and instructors. And some faculty are expressing surprise that their classes are going as well as they are.

We asked instructors how well the semester was going on a scale of 1 (extremely well) to 5 (not well at all). The mean was 2.26 measured across all teaching modalities.

Here are a few comments that reflect themes we saw in your responses.

  • I am exhausted as the semester has begun. I did not really have a summer–with the continual need to respond to requests from work, from the department. But I am also extremely grateful to be in a work setting where I hopefully can make a difference and can help prepare wonderful students for their careers. We are all worried and walking tenderly.
  • Student and faculty mental health has become a very real and obvious concern. I am fielding personal health issues with students that was previously not the case. I am worried about how this will progress.
  • My normal class is very interactive and I didn’t think doing it on line would be as productive—but I was wrong. It’s working quite well.

  • Students are hungry to learn. They are more eager and motivated than usual. I just hope we can sustain this level of interest, because it is heartwarming to see how much they want to learn and how much resilience they have under difficult circumstances. Also, the people at LAITS have been really responsive and helpful.
  • It is difficult to make a good follow up with them in terms of learning. It is difficult to see who is learning and who is having a hard time. In normal times I was able to go desk by desk, student by student and check their progress individually and as a group. As a teacher this week has been definitely frustrating.

My hope is that we will be able to make progress on some issues, like the ones related to technology and support for students and each other. Our ability to positively impact others will be limited, but we are monitoring them very closely. I do recommend reviewing and sharing the well being resources shared by the Faculty Innovation Center last week.

We’re grateful for you. We’re grateful for your frank and forthright responses. And we’re grateful for your commitment adjust and learn along with us.

Thank you,

Daniel Jaffe

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Messages from the Provost
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