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with Department Liaisons

Stretch your staff. with Department Liaisons. Andrew C. Lawlor, Ph.D. Dennis J. Bradley Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Doing more with less staff is like playing Twister. Here is how to avoid getting “tied up in knots”. We will cover…. About Edinboro University and IT

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with Department Liaisons

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  1. Stretch your staff withDepartment Liaisons Andrew C. Lawlor, Ph.D. Dennis J. Bradley Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

  2. Doing more with less staff is like playing Twister Here is how to avoid getting “tied up in knots”

  3. We will cover… • About Edinboro University and IT • What is a Department Liaison program? • How was it started? • How it works • Examples • Feedback • Suggestions

  4. The Context • Public university • Declining state support • Increasing costs • Reduced labor through attrition • Meanwhile…

  5. Increase in technology • Increase in sophistication • Increase in Help Desk call rate • Increase in mean time to close Help Desk calls

  6. IT @ Edinboro University • 24 employees • Desktop Systems and Learning Technology • Enterprise Systems • Networks and Telecommunications • Administration

  7. Edinboro University of PA • 7800 students • 2000 computers • 43 labs • Distance education (web and videoconf.) • 80+ smart classrooms • Etc., etc.

  8. What is it? • A way to bring departments closer to the IT operation • Identified by department chair • Given special “privileges” and access • First point of contact • Become part of solution

  9. Program Components • To receive immediate communications regarding technical problems • To receive special training • To prioritize the Help Desk calls from their department • To receive communications about our upgrade efforts and test new technology • To build upon relationships already established within departments and to forge new relationships where not already instituted

  10. Startup • August 2001 – five departments • Technicians from two academic schools • Initial Training • Priority Request in CallTrack • Website for Liaisons • Support tools, including TACUpdate

  11. Operation • Meets occasionally • Frequent emails • Liaison voice mail distribution • Invitations to provide feedback on new technology • 36 current members

  12. Examples

  13. Feedback Yes I think it has helped both me and my department.  For the dept, the sharing of information especially when there is a problem that affects all users (outages of services, slow downs, virus problems etc) has been helpful.  This hopefully allows the liaisons to "spread the word" allowing faculty to be informed more quickly and can also help lessen the load on the help desk.  The additional information that liaisons receive that are more technical and experimental are helpful to me.  I like receiving the info via email and don't mind receiving more than I might need/use; in other words, if in doubt send it. Thanks for not having meetings...I think it works fine this way. (Dr. David Denton, Music Department)

  14. Feedback It was helpful to receive the updates from you during the course of the year. One never knows when the information will be directly relevant to one’s area, so familiarity with the big picture as well as current events is useful. I don’t have anything to suggest for improvement. Thanks for keeping us in mind. Michael Bucell, Ph.D. Ghering Health and Wellness Center Counseling and Psychological Services Edinboro University of PA

  15. Department Liaison Website

  16. Suggestions • Start with a pilot • Build a set of web resources • Meet infrequently • Communicate frequently • Show appreciation Results: Less stretching! Less Twister!

  17. Contact Information Dr. Andrew Lawlor 814-732-1040 lawlor@edinboro.edu Mr. Dennis Bradley 814-732-1030 bradley@edinboro.edu Game over!

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