BY FELICE LOK

The QILT Student Experience Survey results for 2020 have revealed a large decrease in student satisfaction at Monash University, making the return to campus in 2021 a long awaited privilege. 

The significant drop in overall student ratings of the quality of their educational experience - falling from 78 per cent in 2019 to 69 per cent in 2020 - demonstrates the impact the pandemic lockdown had on students' motivation throughout online classes. 

The drop in satisfaction was higher among Monash University ratings - measured by Monash students’ ratings of the University’s education - with a fall from 78.6 per cent to 60.4 per cent. However, a Monash University spokesperson said it “took every step to support students, and minimise inconvenience while they learnt from home”. 

“We invested heavily in digital platforms, education and teaching, and introduced initiatives to support our students’ mental and physical health during lockdown.” 

Despite the added resources, second year student Erica Lim found her first year studying online at Monash a challenge. 

“Being online was really unmotivating because you don’t move from your desk,” Ms Lim said. 

“There’s nothing separating study and relaxation and there was no schedule because everything was online.” 

Ratings for Monash University’s learner engagement - defined by the proportion of non-external students who positively rated their engagement with learning - also saw a significant drop from 66.3 per cent to 32.4 per cent, making it one of the largest declines across all universities in Australia. 

The learner engagement is measured through students’ interaction with others, participation in classes, and their sense of belonging to the institution. 

As a first year student in 2020, Ms Lim found it difficult to meet new people through a screen, particularly since not sharing many of the same classes together made it hard to keep in touch. 

Similarly, third year student Jennifer Sam found the lack of social interaction impacted her studies the most during 2020. 

Ms Sam said as she progressed through the semester and exams approached, she started becoming “really stressed” about her studies. 

“I think mainly because the social aspect of uni was basically taken away,” she said. 

“That was a big part of what impacted my uni life last year.”

The Student Education Survey (SES) results also revealed a drop in ratings towards teaching quality from 81.1 per cent to 71.4 per cent, however both Ms Lim and Ms Sam said they felt supported by their tutors. 

“Tutors did try their hardest and they were a lot more lenient in terms of attendance and marks,” Ms Lim said. 

Ms Sam said the teaching quality was similar to how she found her studies in 2019.

“[Tutors] usually made sure that they told all the students that they were open to have extra discussions and consultations through emails and Zoom calls,” she said. 

“I know that I’m more comfortable with emails, so I’m glad that a lot of my tutors were encouraging people to reach out to them through that.” 

With COVID-19 no longer at its peak in Australia, Monash University has developed options for online, on-campus, and dual mode classes in 2021 to provide students with flexibility and adaptability.

Ms Sam said she enjoys the options to choose between online and on-campus classes as it allows her to create a timetable that suits her schedule. 

“And also having the ability to choose whether we want to go [into uni] on certain days and whether we want to stay at home and focus on our assignments; that has helped me quite a lot,” she said. 

Ms Lim said she found on-campus classes has given her a set schedule to follow. 

“I picked all my classes to be on campus because I knew that being on campus would benefit me in so many ways,” she said. 

“I feel like being on campus is just better socially.”  

To accommodate for the lack of social activity in 2020, Monash launched a ‘Ready for More’ program in 2021 to increase events and activities across the campus, including a physical orientation, concerts and events in March, and physical formal graduation events for 2020 graduates. 

While the SES highlighted a strong downturn in student satisfaction with Monash University, the results of Monash's own Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) suggested otherwise, with their surveys demonstrating similar levels of student satisfaction year on year. 

“The Monash Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) semester one overall satisfaction was 74.7 per cent in 2020, compared to 76.8 per cent in 2019. The semester two overall satisfaction results were 78.5 per cent in 2020, compared to 77.6 per cent in 2019,” a Monash spokesperson said.