Surveying the graduate student experience

Mary Kane

Like most universities, the University of Ottawa regularly participates in a number of surveys that gauge student satisfaction. Undergraduate student surveys include the Canadian University Survey Consortium and the National Survey of Student Engagement. Each with a different emphasis, the surveys yield important information that guide planning and policy development for students.

At the graduate level, surveys have focused on employment outcomes and individual program evaluations. This year, the University participated in the Graduate and Professional Student Survey for its first time. This comprehensive Canada-wide survey covers a range of areas including program satisfaction, professional skills development and educational debt. Participants include all universities in Ontario, as well as the leading research-intensive universities (G13), of which the University of Ottawa has been a member since 2006.

Almost 1,200 University graduate students (or 34 per cent of the graduate student population) from three types of programs (non-thesis master’s, research master’s and doctoral) participated in the 2007 survey.

“The survey fulfils the need to have a university-wide systematic survey of graduate students,” says Pierre Mercier, associate vice-president, Institutional Research and Planning. “It allows us to see how we compare to other institutions, particularly G13 institutions, which offers our best comparison because of the importance of research at the graduate level.”

The results are currently under discussion by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (FGPS), the Administration Committee and the Academic Planning Committees. A preliminary summary of the results has also been sent to students.

“This is a tool that is more than welcome. The FGPS is also using a number of other approaches, for example, focus groups and in-house surveys, to better understand the challenges that we are facing and the needs of our students,” says Gary Slater, dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. “With the faculties and other services on campus, including the Student Academic Success Service, we are trying to address the concerns identified and to offer the services that we expect from a top research-intensive university. The nice thing is that we now have a tool to find the problems and monitor the progress!”

The preliminary analysis points to some key areas:

• Professional skills development: Students were asked to rate the quality and support received in skills development in areas such as teaching, academic writing and publishing. In general, research master’s and doctoral students at uOttawa rate the support received to be on par with other G13 institutions. However, two areas in which we appear to lag is in the support provided on research ethics and teaching.

• Research experience: For research master’s and doctoral students, the quality of the research experience is mostly on par with G13. Since research is at the core of the graduate experience, a positive ranking on this component is significant.

• Financial support: Thirty-five per cent of uOttawa graduate students receive full tuition or scholarship waivers, above the 11 per cent average of G13 institutions. Further examination is needed to assess the comparability of the support in terms of dollar value.

While the results for non-thesis master’s programs are on par with those obtained by the G13, there appears to be a comparatively lower level of satisfaction among research master’s and doctoral students when asked whether they would choose the same university again. Further research is needed to better understand these responses which cannot currently be traced in any of the more specific questions.

With the University aiming to increase the number of graduate students by 33 per cent by 2010, listening to the voices of graduate students is more important than ever. The Graduate and Professional Student Survey offers a gateway to understanding, providing important information on educational practices at the graduate level.