Students miss deadlines because of poor IT

UK university students miss deadlines due to poor software performance, AppDynamics research shows

Application intelligence company, AppDynamics, has released new research revealing that substandard digital services have a negative impact on student learning experiences in the UK.

Poor software performance is revealed as a top frustration, with 63% of students stating it is a contributing factor in causing them to miss important deadlines.

In today’s learning environment, almost all students (96%) require the use of at least one application to complete their degree, with 63% using two to four on a regular basis, according to the study. Despite this, the study indicates that complex resources and poor virtual learning environments have a negative impact on students’ overall learning (68%). 

The study, which polled 500 UK university students, highlights the potential negative impact that poorly performing applications can have on academic performance and degree results. 

‘CIOs must understand that software is key to growing today’s students into tomorrow’s business leaders. The benefits are that these successful students then become brand ambassadors, attracting further talent to the university’

The report highlighted that 71% of students have experienced technical difficulties with their university applications, and 63% have missed assignment deadlines in part because of poor university software performance.

The study also reveals different digital expectations of students based on course type. Computer science students consider the ability to access literature (71%) and take part in course-related collaboration (63%) as the most desired digital features. Arts students cited social networking (45%) as the most valuable digital feature. Social science students place most value on having IT that enables timely assignment submission (37%) 

Jeremy Duggan, vice president, EMEA at AppDynamics, commented: “Today’s students have grown up with services like Google, Airbnb, and Uber. They demand intuitive services that offer 24/7 access. In light of the rise in tuition fees, universities must behave as true software-defined businesses and regard their students as customers. This means a strong digital strategy with innovation and performance at its core. CIOs must understand that software is key to growing today’s students into tomorrow’s business leaders. The benefits are that these successful students then become brand ambassadors, attracting further talent to the university.”  

To find out more, the full report can be found here: https://www.appdynamics.co.uk/lp/software-key-to-good-degree 

A free trial of AppDynamics is available at www.appdynamics.com/freetrial