Sociology Research

The Eau Claire Longitudinal Student Survey (ECLSS) is conducted annually by students in the Sociological Research Methods course (SOC 332) at UW-Eau Claire. During the Spring 2025 semester, we invited a random sample of 1000 students to answer questions about a variety of topics chosen by students. Overall, our response rate of 21.5% was higher than most national surveys. Thank you to all those who completed it! Here are a few things we learned.

On Artificial Intelligence

• How many students are using generative AI? In the Spring of 2023—right after ChatGPT was released—only 29% of students said they had ever used generative AI, while 69% had not. Two years later, those numbers have reversed: in Spring 2025, 29% of students said they do not use generative AI, while 71% say they do. ChatGPT is the most popular model, used by 65% of all students.
• What are students using generative AI for? In Spring 2023, only 7% of students said they had used generative AI for school. Two years later, in Spring 2025, 61% of students said they use generative AI for school.
• How much are students using generative AI? Less than you might think. Looking only at the students who do use generative AI, 70% said they use it 1-5 times per week (for all purposes, not just school).
• When asked how many times they had used generative AI for a school assignment during the current academic year when it was not required, 34% said 0 and 20% said 1 or 2. On the other extreme, 17% said they had used generative AI 11 or more times during that year.
• When asked whether they consider the use of generative AI “cheating,” students see shades of gray: only small numbers of students said “always” (8%) or “never” (4%).
• Overall, students are satisfied with their professors’ AI policies. 69% said their policies have been reasonable. 10% said they have been too restrictive, and 6% said they have been too lenient.
• 80% of students characterized generative AI as (very or somewhat) useful
• 26% of students agree that generative AI provides accurate information, while 32% disagree
• When asked whether generative AI is making society better or worse, 6% chose better, 38% chose worse, and 51% said both.

On Relationships

• 46% of students said they were single
• Almost 70% of students said they are happy with their current relationship status
• Almost 80% of students chose marriage as their ideal future relationship
• Have students ever felt pressure to be in a romantic relationship? More reported feeling pressure from the media (67%) and from friends (41%) than from family (25%).
• When asked about characteristics of an ideal relationship, the ones judged most important are friendship/companionship, communication, and shared morals/values. The characteristics judged least important are shared ethnic/cultural heritage and financial success.
• What about sex? When asked if they thought they could be happy in a long-term romantic relationship without sex, 39% said yes and 35% said no.

On Video Games

• Blugolds’ average stress level is 6.25 on a scale of 0 (not stressed) to 10 (extremely stressed)
• Most students are satisfied with the amount of free time they have, though 42% said they didn’t have enough
• 43% of students play video games in their free time
• Of those, 47% play video games at least once a day, and 77% say they feel like they spend too much time playing video games at least “sometimes”
• 60% of students think video games “both help and hurt” academic performance
• Blugolds are evenly split on whether they think video games have a positive (25%) or negative (28%) impact on society

Silly Sociology!

Let’s not forget our silly sociology questions! Throughout the survey, we threw in some fun questions, just to keep things from getting too serious. Here’s are the answers to the questions you never knew you had:

• 40% of Blugolds’ chose fall as their favorite season. Bring on the corn mazes and caramel apples!
• Hibbard was judged to be the best building on lower campus for surviving the zombie apocalypse (31%), though the McIntyre/VLL/Schofield complex was a close second (30%). Now you know where to go…
• More students said “No” (48%) than “Yes” (34%) to pineapple on pizza. Sounds like an intercultural immersion to Hawaii is desperately needed.
• Fully 75% of students grew up with a second refrigerator in their homes. Is this a Wisconsin thing or something?
• Blugolds think that 46% of students have at least one tattoo. But how many actually do? If only there was some sort of survey to find out…

The Eau Claire Longitudinal Student Survey was designed to do two things: provide UW-Eau Claire (UWEC) Sociology majors with original survey research experience and to generate meaningful knowledge about our campus.

Those two goals came together seamlessly in 2024. That year, students, faculty, and administrators ended up collaborating to produce new knowledge about what UWEC students really think about online courses.

Professor Peter Hart-Brinson, the primary investigator, worked with Associate Vice Chancellor Louisa Rice to design a set of questions about how students felt about online classes. At the same time, student Matthew Nelson (’25) worked with three other Sociology majors to design questions measuring how students’ academic experiences vary by socioeconomic status (SES).

Together, the survey revealed both what students think about online classes and which students most benefit from them. In the end, the study shows how the future of higher education might be in hybrid education—combining in-person and online education in new ways.

What do Blugolds Think about Online Classes?

First, current UWEC students strongly prefer in-person classes to online classes. This preference appears across nearly every measure. Almost three-quarters (73%) said they prefer in-person classes to both online classes (7%) and hybrid classes (21%). Even more striking is that 84% said that’s how they learn best. If the quality of education is your number one priority, UWEC should remain committed to in-person learning.

When we asked students to compare different aspects of the learning experience of a typical class, the only thing students said was better online was “convenience” (76%). By contrast, majorities of students said that in-person classes were better for student interaction (92%), how much you learn (80%), motivation to do well (62%), overall enjoyment (62%), and feedback from the professor (52%).

Second, despite the strong preference for in-person classes, most students still want online courses to be available. When asked what their ideal semester looked like, 55% chose “mostly in person with 1 or 2 courses online.” This suggests that students overall want a rigorous educational experience in their in-person classes but with one or two classes for convenience and flexibility.

Which courses would they want as their online course(s) in an ideal semester? Requirements and lower-level courses. Majorities of students said they would be likely to choose an online section over an in-person section if it was a course that fulfilled a general education requirement (60%) or if it was a lower-level course (59%). For upper-level courses, courses in their major, and courses with performance and lab components, students strongly prefer in-person classes.

Third, technology does not appear to be a significant barrier to taking online classes. Less than 10% said that unreliable internet access, lack of a quality device, or discomfort with technology posed a barrier to taking as many online classes as they would like. And although students certainly experience technology problems that interfere with their coursework, most students said it only happened a few times per year (36%) or a few times per semester (30%).

Who do Online Classes Benefit?

Those opinions make sense for a university that has built a reputation on in-person learning. But are there students who are falling through the cracks? Who are the 7-10% of students who say they prefer online learning, and could UW-Eau Claire be missing an opportunity to attract more students like them?

Thanks to Matthew Nelson and the students in his group who studied the impact of SES on education, we were able to learn more about the benefits of online courses beyond mere convenience.

First, beyond the 7% of students who say they prefer online classes, many students experience barriers to taking in-person classes that end up pushing them online. Work schedule (28%), transportation (11%), and family/caregiving commitments (8%) are all barriers that prevent students from taking as many in-person classes as they want to. The more of these barriers a person experiences, the stronger their preference for online classes.

Second, we found no evidence that preference for online learning is associated with traditional measures of SES, like family income, parents’ education, or age. Instead, preference for a schedule that includes more online classes is associated with subjective feelings of obligation to outside responsibilities. Students who said they had to prioritize their outside obligations over coursework “a lot” or “a great deal” were more likely to prefer more online courses than students who didn’t feel those obligations.

In sum, although online classes give all students flexibility and convenience for taking those lower-level gen ed classes, they can be an absolute necessity for students with outside obligations. When the demands of work, transportation, and family life pile up, online courses offer students a chance to pursue a college degree that they might not have otherwise.

The Future of Higher Ed is Hybrid Ed

What conclusions can we draw from this research?

First, rumors of the death of in-person learning have been greatly exaggerated. This study confirms that students both prefer and learn best in person—in a classroom, face-to-face, with other students and a professor. Yes, online learning offers tremendous flexibility and convenience (and let’s not forget the cool pedagogical possibilities of the internet), but the in-person classroom is more motivating, promotes more engagement, and provides social connection and accountability. Simply put, there are some things technology can’t replace.

Second, online classes are also a matter of equity. We should not let the apparent preference for and superiority of in-person classes cause us to neglect the importance of online classes for opening doors that might otherwise remain closed. Higher education should not shut out potential students on account of their work and family obligations; instead, online courses are a way to provide opportunities for learning and upward mobility when in-person education isn’t an option.

Thus, we have both a paradox and a practical problem: how do we provide both educational access and educational quality? We cannot invest more into online classes if it comes at the expense of in-person classes. This is especially true in the age of AI, because online classes will be the first to get replaced by low-cost, super-powered chatbots. But we cannot ignore online classes simply because the in-person learning experience is better. How do we get the best out of both worlds?

UW-Eau Claire should invest in hybrid education, not online education. “Hybrid” here does not just mean “hybrid classes” that meet both in-person and online. Instead, hybrid means doubling down on the quality of in-person learning while also figuring out how to get online students the in-person experience. Professors and policy-makers should think creatively about ways to create shared in-person experiences for students in online classes.

For example, adding a weekend retreat at the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester would help create face-to-face relationships and make the course more meaningful. Similarly, experiments in how to bring the in-person campus experience to off-campus locations, and curricular designs that make whole degree programs include both in-person and online experiences, could open the door to a new kind of educational experience that combines the strengths of both in-person and online environments.

Students need both access and quality. The future of higher education belongs to the institutions that can best provide both.

UW-Eau Claire is known for being LGBTQ+ friendly, having been ranked for years as a great college for LGBTQ+ students. But is the reputation deserved? According to students, support for transgender students may be lacking. The Eau Claire Longitudinal Student Survey (ECLSS) is an annual survey conducted by students in the Sociological Research Methods course (SOC 332) at UW-Eau Claire. During the Spring 2023 semester, a random sample of 1000 students were invited to complete the survey, which included questions about students’ perception of transgender issues on campus. Comparing how LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ students answered these questions exposed significant differences of opinion about how well UWEC is supporting transgender students.

Campus Climate

One question from the survey asked students, ‘How uncomfortable do you believe transgender students feel on campus?’ Whereas only 13% of non-LGBTQ+ students believed that transgender students feel uncomfortable on campus, 30% of LGBTQ+ students held that belief. What is the reason for the difference? On one hand, it could imply that LGBTQ+ students are more aware of campus issues that make transgender students feel uncomfortable, whereas non-LGBTQ+ students may be less aware. On the other hand, it could reflect the fact that transgender people are subject to discrimination in society at large and that UWEC is no exception. When we asked, “How much discrimination do you feel Transgender people experience in society?” 72% of non-LGBTQ+ individuals and 97% of LGBTQ+ individuals said “a lot.” Given the large majorities of students who perceive discrimination against transgender people in society, the comparatively lower numbers of students who said they thought transgender students felt uncomfortable on campus is impressive. So although there are differences of opinion on campus, when compared to society as a whole, UWEC seems to be a much more welcoming place for transgender students.

In the Classroom

Another question from the survey asked students, ‘Do you feel the faculty at UWEC is well equipped to support transgender students at this University?’ Of those who gave yes or no answers, 81% of non-LGBTQ+ students said yes, while only 31% of LGBTQ+ students said so. These results show that LGBTQ+ students are more likely to say that UWEC faculty are not equipped to support transgender students and need more training and resources. If they are right, then we have more work to do in order to prepare faculty to support all students. The difference also suggests that non-LGBTQ+ students may be unaware of what faculty need in order to be able to support transgender students.

Why is this important? Not only for the sake of supporting transgender students, but also because students here want to know more about transgender issues. Results of the survey tell us that 59% of non-LGBTQ+ students say that they want to learn more about transgender issues, and 88% of LGBTQ+ students say they want to learn more. Thus, majorities of students, whether they identify with the LGBTQ+ community or not, are interested in learning more about transgender issues. Training and equipping the faculty at this university with resources to include transgender issues more into their curriculum could be both beneficial for students and consistent with their desires.

Bathroom Accommodations

Still another survey question asked students ‘How do you feel about the number of gender neutral bathrooms on campus?’ Almost all (97%) of the cisgender students said that there were enough gender neutral bathrooms, while 76% of non-cisgender students said there were enough. Although it is not surprising that non-cisgender students would be more likely to say there should be more gender neutral bathrooms, it is notable that such a large majority of non-cisgender students expressed satisfaction with the bathroom accommodations. This shows that although there is still a difference in the views of students on campus, the university has done a good job of providing a resource that benefits students of all genders: 60% of all students said they have used gender neutral bathrooms on campus. Thus, resources provided with transgender students in mind also benefit cisgender students.

Conclusion

All in all, the results of these questions tell us a lot about how students feel about UWEC’s support for transgender students. On the one hand, when compared to the society at large, students have more favorable attitudes about UWEC’s support for transgender individuals. Even LGBTQ+ students think UWEC is a safer place for transgender students, who probably feel a lot more comfortable here than other places. But that doesn’t mean that UWEC is perfect; when comparing LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ students, we see differences of opinion that point to ways that UWEC may be falling short—starting with the need for more training and resources for faculty and staff. While we are making great strides as a university, UWEC still has some work to do before we can fully support LGBTQ+ individuals.