COVID-19 Psychology Undergraduate Survey Results

In the Spring of 2020, the worldwide pandemic was declared. Canada implemented a state of emergency, British Columbians voluntarily isolated at home for weeks, and Simon Fraser University transitioned to remote learning in a matter of days. In person learning was also severely curtailed in the Summer and subsequent terms.

In Psychology, we launched a survey in the summer of 2020 to learn more about how our students were coping with the pandemic and with remote learning. Our goal was to better understand our students, their needs, and what instructors could do to make the best decisions about teaching and learning as possible in these new circumstances. We analyzed preliminary results in the summer to provide feedback to instructors who were making decisions about their Fall teaching, presented below in an infographic. As our primary focus in the previous terms was aimed to improve student experience, we have now finally been able to put together a summary of the analyses, which can be found here. 

Your comments and feedback have shaped many of the decisions that the department has made in the Fall and subsequent terms about how to hold office hours, assessment strategies, and fostering student engagement. Another direct result of the survey was our online event PSYC Grad School 101 Event and our recent PSYC Honours Info Session this February. These events came in response to an overwhelming number of students who expressed an interest in information sessions related to graduate school. In addition, in response to an interest in research related events, we featured a range of research labs via our Instagram story take-overs for students to learn about the types of research happening in the department.

We are thankful and grateful for all the students who participated in this survey. Now that it has been a year of navigating the virtual landscape together, we will be sending out another follow-up survey to students in the coming weeks to see how we can continue to improve the student experience and best support our students.