CUConnect Prototype Surveys
as of July 14, 2003

Surveys to date

• Shakedown survey on general performance issues (approx. 100 responses)
• Prototype week 1: general performance, most liked and least liked features (approx 53 responses)
• Prototype week 2: information access (approx 15 responses)
• Prototype week 3: announcements (approx. 46 responses)

Current survey

• PLUS and the portal

Upcoming surveys

• Portal personalization
• Portal value (ranking each channel)

Survey findings

Shakedown

• Performance issues drew 68 complaints during shakedown, this dropped to 23 during the first week of the prototype and continues to drop. (A lot of work on hardware, networking, and page layout helped with this.)
• We have always been concerned about speed, and slowness was the number one issue that people cited in the survey where we asked for what they liked least. (9 out of 53 people mentioned speed – but many of these folks said it’s a bit slow but not too bad.) Overall, speed ranking the first week of the prototype was 3.31 on a scale of 1=very slow to 5=very fast. 24 of the 47 people who answered this question ranked it fast or very fast; 8 ranked it slow; 2 very slow.
• Many shakedown complaints about the CUConnect frame replacing the navigation bar on linked-to pages were addressed by developing a new CUConnct frame that still allows the back/forward navigation bar.

First week: general impressions

• Features most liked (in order of popularity):
  • Central access to information,
  • General organization
  • GPA calculator
  • Just generally like it!
• Features least liked (in order of dislike):
  • Slowness
  • Too many logins (Webmail separate login; PLUS time out)
  • However, the number 1 vote-getter when we asked for least liked feature: “nothing”

Second week: information access

• Successful ability to find information outranked inability to find information 3:1.
  • No respondents ranked the information as somewhat difficult or difficult to find.
  • No respondents said that they would seldom or never use the portal to find information.
• Information of highest interest within the portal:
  • Schedule, class, grade information
  • Information specific to them (announcements, advising, etc.)
  • Academic calendar
• Information most desired that is not available within the portal
  • Schedule planner
  • Events
  • Web CT
  • Calendar (personal and events)
  • Additional media links (local and national)

Third week: announcements

• 40% of respondents said they always check the announcements; 49% said they occasionally check. That left 3 respondents who said they seldom check and 2 respondents who said they never check announcements.
• Announcement usefulness ranking of ‘extremely useful’ and ‘somewhat useful’ out paced the ‘of little use’ and ‘never useful’ by 39-to-5 (and 4 people weren’t sure).
• Announcement positive comments (informative, useful, easy to find info) outranked announcement criticisms (poor format, redundant, not useful) 3:1
• Announcement topic suggestions that were mentioned most frequently:
  • Reminders/deadlines
  • Events
  • “ Important information”
  • Academic-related topics
  • Financial-related topics