The island where no UIB student asks to predominantly receive classes in Spanish

PalmThe first Baròmetro of the Social Council of the UIB shows that only 51.2% of students would prefer to mostly receive classes in Catalan, while 40.4% opt for Spanish, in a context of linguistic coexistence but with significant differences depending on studies and territories. The survey, based on 2,067 responses, also reveals that the use of Catalan in classrooms varies significantly between faculties and islands, with particularly unique cases like Formentera, where no student declares wanting to mostly receive classes in Spanish.

In this island case, 66.7% of Formentera students want Catalan to predominate, and the rest (33.3%), English, with no support for Spanish as a teaching language, despite the fact that currently 16.7% of classes are taught in this language. This behavior stands out within the study as unique and for breaking with the general trend of Catalan-Spanish duality that permeates the rest of the islands.

Extreme contrasts

In the UIB, Catalan has a very uneven implementation depending on the Faculty. Its presence is particularly high in Education (89.9%), followed by the Escola Politècnica Superior (67.8%), Philology and Letters (55%), Sciences (54.3%), and postgraduate studies (52.5%). In contrast, it is notably reduced in Tourism (2.9%), Medicine (5.1%), Law (8.4%), Economics (20%), Nursing (29.8%), Psychology (35.2%), and doctoral studies (48.8%).

This imbalance is also reflected in student perceptions. The degree programs with less Catalan presence are, at the same time, those that register the most dissatisfaction with the linguistic model. In Medicine, 34% of students disagree with the current system, where they state that 95% of teaching is done in Spanish. In Nursing, 27.5% also express complaints, with 70% of classes in Spanish. Similar situations occur in Psychology (21.6% against and 65% of teaching in Spanish), Economics (20% and 72%), Sciences (18.6% and 46%), Law (16.8% and 92%), and Tourism (14.9% and 97% of teaching in Spanish).

In Psychology, 51% of students would prefer to receive most of their classes in Catalan, even though only 35% of teaching is provided there. In Medicine, 41.8% also demand more Catalan presence, and in Tourism, 25.5% do so, in a context where real usage is very limited. There are also requests for an increase in Nursing (41.6%), Economics (34.3%), Law (31.1%), and postgraduate studies (60%).

However, in degrees where Catalan is already the majority language, there are differences between departments where students ask to maintain or increase it, and those where the space for the native language is to be reduced. At the Escola Politècnica Superior, 57.8% would like more teaching in Catalan (currently it is 67.8%), while at Ciències 56.3% defend it (54.3% of teaching in Catalan) and at Filologia i Lletres, 46.8% (55%). In the case of Educació, the faculty with the greatest presence of Catalan, up to 80% of students want to reinforce the current model (89.9% of teaching is done).

Civil service aspirations

Regarding the rest of the university profile, the barometer depicts a predominantly Mallorcan community (75.6%), living with family (65.7%) and who have chosen their studies out of vocation in 79.4% of cases. Nevertheless, proximity continues to be the main enrollment factor (67%).

The UIB obtains an overall score of 6.7, and 54.8% of students state they would choose the same university again. The best-rated services are student support (7.5) and career guidance (7.4), while the teaching staff receives scores close to 8. In the social and economic sphere, the main concerns are the cost of living (35.6%) and access to housing (21.8%). In the professional sphere, 52.3% see themselves working in the public sector, and the most valued criteria are salary, a good working environment, and flexible hours.

Finally, digital consumption is very intense: WhatsApp (89%) and Instagram (82%) are the most used networks, and 81% of students use artificial intelligence for studying. Email continues to be the main information channel for the UIB (65.2%) and also the preferred one (67.9%).