Isolation is tough for students
During the pandemic, ETH students have been struggling with motivation and miss social contact with their fellow students. These were the findings of an ad-hoc student survey carried out in December. On the positive side, remote teaching has been a big success.
The pandemic has forced ETH students to adapt to a completely different study routine. In the middle of the Autumn Semester, they had to switch back to online teaching yet again. So how are they coping? Acting on concerns about students’ mental health, the Rector instructed the Educational Development and Technology (LET) department to carry out an ad-hoc survey between 8 and 15 December 2020. A total of 7,822 Bachelor’s and Master’s students took part, with a slightly higher proportion of Bachelor’s students (61 percent). The results in a nutshell: students feel they have good support, but the pandemic is still taking a heavy toll on their well-being.
Most respondents claimed that their motivation was worse or significantly worse than during a normal semester (65 percent), their concentration was poor or significantly poorer (63 percent), and their general anxiety levels were higher than usual (58 percent). A quarter of those surveyed also said they did not enjoy studying – far more than the 14 percent who made a similar statement in the survey by VSETH, the ETH students association, in spring 2019.
Missing social contacts
There are many different reasons for the reports of anxiety and lack of motivation, but missing campus life seems to be a cause of particular concern: 57 percent of respondents said they felt they did not have enough social contact during their studies. When asked to provide further comments, the main factor seems to be the lack of structure to their day, worries about falling ill, the blurring of boundaries between work and rest, and the lack of physical exercise.
Luca Dahle, VSETH President, says: “Being together on campus, playing sport or attending other university events relieves some of the pressure to perform at ETH. This sort of counterbalance is simply not available in our current depersonalised world.”
ETH Rector Sarah Springman comments: “One of my biggest concerns is for ETH students to be able to learn together and support each other. That’s why we created the bubble system for the Autumn Semester, for example. Then the pandemic brought everything to a halt again. But it’s still important to get outside now and then for some fresh air and exercise.”
The #moveETH campaign launched by the Rector and the university sports association ASVZ is designed to motivate students to do just that. Here ETH members can post short videos and photos of their activities, thereby strengthening the sense of community on a virtual level at least.
Anyone unsure where to start can seek support from the help desks at ETH and VSETH. According to the survey, most students are aware of these offerings, and 6 percent actually use them. To lower the barriers even further for those looking to take the first step, the Rectorate has already provided a “stress meter” before the outbreak of the pandemic: the self-assessment of stress levels is designed to help students recognise when they need support. Betty Friedrich from the Rector’s Staff helped to develop the tool. She says: “Many people believe a high stress level and work pressure is part and parcel of studying at ETH. But it’s important to realise the point where stress becomes too great for you to deal with on your own.”
Confirmation that stress levels have risen across the entire population since the spring of 2020 is provided by the external pagesurvey conducted by the Swiss National Covid-19 Science Task Force in November 2020. This shows that those most affected by mental health problems are teenagers and young adults between the ages of 14 and 24.
Difficult working conditions at home
Around one eighth (12 percent) of respondents in the ETH study claimed that working conditions at home were not good enough to always allow work requiring a high level of concentration.
Rector Springman notes that the survey highlights the important role of student workplaces on the ETH campus: “Students live in vastly different circumstances, and many of them currently study and work under extremely difficult conditions. We want to help improve their situation by offering student workplaces.” And this provision is very welcome: the facilities provided at student workplaces in ETH buildings were rated as good or very good by 71 percent of respondents.
Good remote teaching helps
Online teaching can itself contribute to students’ well-being, however, according to the answers given in Autumn Semester 2020 to questions on teaching, students said they felt generally well supported by lecturers and staff in their study programmes. When asked to give more details, they particularly praised the live lectures which allow direct interaction with lecturers or fellow students in the form of voting and quizzes, for example.
Gerd Kortemeyer, Head of LET, says: “Many people are finding it difficult to check their own academic progress. Students normally compare themselves with each other to judge whether they are on track to sit exams. Interactive elements and quizzes can help to fill this gap a little.”
Another challenge is the structure of the day. Although most respondents appreciate the flexibility of being able to follow lectures at their own pace and at a convenient time, students still need a regular structure to their week in order to keep on top of their work. For remote teaching to be successful, Kortemeyer notes, it is also important to stick to a timetable – including taking breaks. After all, studying is a very intense activity and students need time for a breather during online teaching as well.
Remote teaching is surprisingly popular overall: if they had the choice, almost 80 percent of respondents would still like to have one or more days of remote teaching even after the pandemic is over.
Kortemeyer and his team now want to make sure that tried-and-tested remote teaching methods are used more widely in the coming semester, sharing them with Directors of Study, the teaching specialists and the teaching cadre through the Refresh Teaching events, for example. They will organise a series of institution-wide workshops to discuss the data collected from surveys, exam results and usage statistics as a basis for drawing conclusions about teaching in the post-pandemic era. This will feed into the Rector’s plans for drawing together the learnings at a series of summer retreats, culminating in a one day Teaching Retreat in early July at ETH.
ETH Podcast: Studying in times of the pandemic
In the December episode of the ETH-Podcast, we talk to Tierry Hörmann, the old, and Luca Dahle the new president of VSETH, the umbrella organisation of all students, and how they reach out to fellow students. ETH-Rector Sarah Springman joins the talk and compares this phase with competing in a triathlon without the finishing line in sight. All three guests also talk about the few positive aspects of the crisis.