Results of the AMS 2023 Academic Experience Survey (AES) show concerns about affordability, discrimination and inadequate disability support among the student body.
Every year, the AMS polls students on their thoughts regarding educational satisfaction, campus community, finances, and other opinions surrounding the university.
This year’s survey, conducted with Kai Analytics, saw a threefold increase in the number of respondents with 3,413 responses, in comparison to last year’s 1,090.
AMS VP Academic and University Affairs Kamil Kanji attributed this record-high response rate to a combination of factors including survey-release timing, collaboration with constituencies and a heightened level of campaigning.
Similarly to previous years, 65 per cent of respondents indicated their overall satisfaction with their university experience. This figure encompasses the majority of respondents' positive feelings towards course expectations and exam materials being reasonable.
Breaking down survey demographics
The 3,413 total respondents include both undergraduate and graduate students, with 78 per cent of respondents identifying as undergraduate students.
Approximately 71 per cent of respondents were domestic students and 29 per cent were international students.
Broken down by faculty, 27 per cent of respondents were from the Faculty of Arts, followed closely by the Faculty of Science with 23 per cent and then moving down to the Faculty of Engineering at 9 percent.
Kanji noted a “good amount of similarity” between the university’s enrollment reports and survey respondents. In the coming years, he said the AMS will continue to work with constituencies with lower turnouts to improve campaigning strategies.
“Overall, the sample size is pretty representative, but we're going to keep trying to ensure we get as much of a turnout as possible,” he said.
75 per cent of Black respondents experienced racism
The highest levels of discrimination students reported were based on race or ethnicity and gender with 37 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively.
Seventy per cent of Black respondents and 43 per cent of Indigenous respondents indicated that they experienced racial discrimination on campus. Within those numbers, discrimination is most likely to occur from other students and instructors in the classroom.
In terms of recommendations, the AMS believes that all instructors, staff and professors should undergo mandatory racial and unconscious bias training. For the AMS, Kanji said this recommendation means working with appropriate university bodies across faculties to ensure professors have access to resources “on demand,” whether this includes text, online resources or in-person sessions.
In addition, the report indicated that UBC should commit to increasing opportunities for Indigenous learning across faculties. In the survey, only half of the respondents felt they had the opportunity to engage and become aware of Indigenous histories and perspectives.
Affordability
Twenty-two per cent of respondents expressed that they might not be able to return to UBC in the future due to financial constraints. The survey noted this as the “highest percentage since 2015.”
Notably, the survey also reported only 11 per cent of undergraduates believe UBC cares about their thoughts regarding the cost of education. This number has been decreasing over the past few years.
Infogram
Financial hardships are reflected in the respondents’ use of course materials. Almost 30 per cent of students reported frequently going without a textbook due to cost and 41 per cent of students admitted to using outdated versions of texts to avoid the higher costs of newer editions.
Sixty-one per cent of students expressed their frequent use of open educational resources instead of textbooks.
Students also indicated the extreme value of having access to syllabi prior to the course selection process. The AMS believes it is “imperative” that this access be uniformly mandated for all courses on their respective SSC page.
To address financial hardship, Kanji highlighted the importance of implementing the Student Affordability Taskforce recommendations, and increasing food and housing support.
Along with pushing for greater food bank funding, the AMS is committed to increasing the number of affordable high density housing units. In the short-term, Kanji explained they are working to ensure emergency reserve funding is available for students struggling with housing costs.
One of the most surprising statistics for Kanji was the 14 per cent of respondents indicating they have used career support services offered by the Centre for Student Improvement and Careers. He attributes this low number to the university not doing more to adequately promote these resources, which is something he is working on to reshape the direction of career support.
“It’s not surprising that the students don’t have faith in their institutions,” he said, alluding to the 14 per cent of students believing that the university is transparent about how their tuition is being used.
“That’s something that has been a consistent trend and something that we can hopefully work towards addressing over the next year.”