This study aims to investigate, initially at the University of Trier and subsequently at the Trier University of Applied Sciences, the current burdens faced by students, their psychological health, and their specific needs in terms of support services as well as the existing support services they already use. The respondents will also evaluate aspects of their university's pandemic management strategies.
"The coronavirus pandemic presents a major challenge for universities. There has never been a time when the majority of teaching has been carried out in a digital environment. This fundamentally changes university life, of course. Cafeteria or library visits, study groups or even typical student activities cannot take place as before. Students have to reorganize their lives," reports Dr. Denis Alt, State Secretary, Ministry of Science, Continuing Education and Culture (MWWK), which is supporting the study.
"How often has the quality of our empirical data on the pandemic been questioned in recent weeks? And how often have we asked ourselves why has such-and-such not yet been systematically documented? We want to make a contribution and provide answers with our study. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone for their participation," says Prof. Michael Jäckel, President of the University of Trier and initiator of the study.
ZPID will coordinate the survey development and evaluate the collected data. Students will be asked to participate in a 15-minute online survey on their current situation in the coronavirus pandemic as part of the "Studying in the Pandemic" project.
There are nearly 20,000 young students enrolled at the two universities in Trier who will be contacted to participate in the project. Building on this experience, a survey template will be developed that can also be locally adapted and applied at other university locations in Rhineland-Palatinate.
This project is partnering with ZPID because of its expertise in the field of online surveys and its extensive experience gained through the COSMO project (COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring) — a joint project of several scientific institutions. In this project, repeated surveys are conducted to investigate how the population perceives the coronavirus pandemic and how this is reflected in their psychological well-being.
"We are delighted to be included as a project partner by the University of Trier," says ZPID Director, Prof. Michael Bosnjak. "The results of this survey, which is specifically aimed at students, will enable us to derive specific recommendations that will help, beyond the borders of Trier, to support students during these particularly difficult times."
All students will receive an access link to participate in the survey via email from the President of the University of Trier, Prof. Michael Jäckel.