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April 19, 2001

Faculty asked to grade Pitt classrooms

Pitt's Office of the Registrar this month distributed on-line a faculty survey on the condition of classrooms on the Pittsburgh campus.

The survey, titled Classroom and Instructional Technology Questionnaire, asks faculty members to grade classrooms for comfort and amenities (heating, acoustics, lighting, chalkboard performance, cleanliness, overall quality), size and seating arrangement (number of seats versus number of students assigned to the class, overall satisfaction with seating arrangement) and use of available instructional technologies in the classrooms.

The survey also asks for the instructor's preferences regarding the set up of the teaching station and podium (freestanding or mounted), and whether a networked personal computer should be installed or if the classroom should accommodate a laptop. Instructors are asked to rate the services of the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education (CIDDE) regarding the delivery of classroom technology and to request instructional media that is unavailable in the classrooms.

The survey was prepared by the Office of Institutional Research and was distributed on-line by CIDDE.

According to Registrar Samuel Conte, the survey went out electronically to 1,625 faculty who use Pittsburgh campus classrooms.

Conte gave a preliminary report on the survey to the University Senate's plant utilization and planning committee April 11. "The survey's only been out for a week and we've had 329 faculty respond, about 20 percent," Conte said. "It's too early to tabulate any results. Perhaps after the end of April."

Conte also said a similar survey of student feedback on classroom conditions was planned for a future term.

–Peter Hart


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