OVGU Surveys

Almost 1,500 students and 300 lecturers took part in the OVGU's central survey in the summer semester of 2021. At that time, two semesters were already behind us, which were characterized by a lot of inventive spirit, real changes and a not so small "leap in development": the pandemic situation caught the German higher education system cold in many places; students as well as faculty and staff of the OVGU became real improvisation artists.

In addition to all the small and large fires that constantly had to be extinguished, there was no time to ask:

• How did the transition to digital or hybrid teaching go for you personally?
• What experiences have students and lecturers had?
• Will there be a "going back" or will the way of teaching and learning change permanently?

With the survey, we wanted to capture a barometer of sentiment but also find out in particular:

• What worked well?
• What did not?
• What experiences can other students and lecturers benefit from?

In short: having a real exchange again.

The answers were at least as diverse as our members are - not only did we all have to change our professional and study worlds from one day to the next, but we were also confronted with many other private challenges - severely limited social contacts, home schooling, closed daycare facilities, health fears, to name just a few. The collegial exchange, the quick question between "door to door", the answer on the sidelines of the lecture, the meeting of the project group in the cafeteria, the work in the library were no longer possible as usual.

And that is what our university is all about: personal exchange on campus. According to both students and lecturers, elements of digital teaching will play a greater role in the future than before - especially through blended classroom models and the like. At the same time, however, we noted that not everything can be digitized, especially not the practical formats. Digital elements support self-study and self-learning and can help to make the working environment more flexible, but they are associated with greater communication and service or administrative effort.

The first measures that we derived from the results have already been implemented: the technical equipment of the lecture halls and seminar rooms was improved, websites for digital teaching were created in collaboration with colleagues, and a new position for advising international students was created.

In the period from 05/04 to 05/31 2022, your feedback is once again required.

In the winter semester of 2021/22, we have once again taken the "plunge" and used large-scale digital examination formats for the first time, depending on the situation. The evaluation of this aspect will be an essential moment of this year's survey. In addition, we are interested in how teaching at the OVGU can and should be designed in the future - in order to align support services and further development potential accordingly. In particular, we would like to know from our students in their first year of study how successful their start at the university was. But we are also interested in your assessment of the state of the OVGU community.

Students and faculty received an invitation to the online survey via mail on 04.05.2022. The survey will be open until 05/31/2022.

The results will then be shared with the university public and evaluated with the responsible stakeholders.