Name: Tim Leehane, et. al.Institution: University of California, Davis
E-mail Address: tdleehane@ucdavis.edu
Format: Paper presentation
Suggested Audience: Technology support managers, technology support professionals, campus departmental managers and administrators, information technology managers
Presentation Outcome:
1. Understand the distributed support strategies implemented at UC Davis
2. Understand how level II technical support can be customer-oriented
3. Fill a gap in technical support for campus technical support staff
Presentation Content:
More and more universities are turning to a distributed model of technology support to leverage campuswide resources. With the explosion of use of information technologies, central organizations are recognizing the need to support campus departments in a fundamentally new way. As campus end users turn to local support staff, the central organization must also reorient itself and provide different levels of technical training and support that recognize the new web of interrelationships.
The Technology Support Program (TSP) at UC Davis was launched in July 1995 to form closer alliances between the central information technology organization and individual departments on campus. This presentation will focus on the key points of the TSP: customer service, support, training, and feedback. Each department selects one or more staff members to act as front-line information technology support people. These staff members, in turn, are assigned technical support representatives in the central information technology organization. These representatives are level 2 and 3 help desk technicians who focus not on technology but on the supporting the relationship between the department and the central organization. The departmental support staff receive personalized attention, planned training and support on topics ranging from networking to technology planning to how to better consult and support their end users. They also have many opportunities to work with their peers across campus and provide input back into the central information technology organization. The Technology Support Program has created a strong sense of partnership which will help pave the way for effective working relationships into the next century.
OUTLINE: I) History of Technology Support at UC Davis - Centralized support (help desk) - Explosion in technology use on campus - IT Outreach Program (ITOP) - Developed a distributed support program (TSP) II) The TSP Model - Departmental support staff (TSCs) - Central IT organization representatives (ITRs) - Problem resolution model for TSP - Relationship and challenges between level I, II, and III in a DCE III) TSP Components - Customer service relationship - Support - Training - Technology planning IV) Why TSP Works - Customer service - Peer support - Variety of course material - Feedback to central IT organization - Benefits to department, individuals, and IT organization