Results of the AMS 2022 Academic Experience Survey (AES) show slight improvements in student satisfaction with their overall university experience, though it also found growing concerns over affordability, and an increase in cases of racial discrimination.
This year’s survey saw a sharp decline in survey participants. The 2022 AES had 1,090 respondents, a near 50 per cent decrease from the 2,038 respondents in 2021.
AMS VP Academic and University Affairs Dana Turdy partially attributed the low response rate to survey fatigue after "quite a few" AMS surveys during the 2021/22 academic year.
Turdy also believes that the timing of the survey release contributed to the lower response rate.
“Usually, the AES is released around February or late-January historically, but this year it was released early April. And that's the end of term, since we’re busy with finals and leaving the country, and so there’s generally lower engagement in that period of time as well.”
Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with their overall university experience. This figure remained stable for graduate respondents compared to last year, but is a 10 per cent increase among undergraduate respondents.
Rising discrimination and affordability concerns
A higher number of respondents reported incidents of racial discrimination on campus. Thirty-nine per cent of undergraduate respondents had experienced racial discrimination, while 43 per cent of graduate students had experienced it, an increase from 34 per cent in 2021.
Gender discrimination and age discrimination were also fairly common among respondents. Thirty-six per cent of graduate respondents and 27 per cent of undergraduate respondents said they have experienced gender discrimination and age discrimination, respectively.
Nonetheless, respondents reported feeling more safe on campus. Sixty-six per cent of undergraduate respondents said they felt safe on campus at night, compared to 47 per cent in 2021. Graduate respondents saw a similar improvement, with 68 per cent reporting they feel safe on campus at night compared to 50 per cent in 2021.
Another major trend in the results was rising financial insecurity. Seventy per cent of undergraduate respondents said they attended class without a textbook because of cost — an increase from 62 per cent in 2021. The average cost of textbooks also rose for undergraduate respondents from $893 in 2021 to $1,253 in 2022.
This year, 57 per cent of undergraduate respondents reported financial hardship because of housing costs, a 17 per cent increase from 2021. That figure rose to 75 per cent for graduate student respondents, an increase of 23 per cent from 2021.
Turdy said while these trends in affordability are concerning, they are not surprising.
“This continues to be an issue we hear year-over-year,” said Turdy. “It’s definitely a huge priority for this office, and that includes implementing the Student Affordability Taskforce recommendations, which include recommendations to address things like food insecurity, housing costs, tuition, and all of those various factors.”
Strong support for on-campus drug testing
A new question in the 2022 AES measured support for FTIR spectrometer drug checking, a service for reducing harm reduction and addressing the BC toxic drug supply.
“Essentially, it tests different substances, to ensure purity, and tests for fentanyl and other harmful substances that might lead to overdose,” said Turdy.
Support for on-campus FTIR spectrometer drug checking was high. Seventy-seven per cent of both undergraduate and graduate respondents supported such a service.
The data in the AES will be used to make recommendations to UBC leadership, and attempts will be made to incorporate those recommendations into advocacy in the following year.
In the AES report, the AMS says it will recommend UBC implement on-campus FTIR spectrometer drug checking, measure its progress on addressing discrimination and continue to make progress on the Student Affordability Taskforce recommendations.