Campus Services 2007 Conference Reports
Moderator
Joseph Hacker, Indiana University
Charge
Provide a forum for the discussion of daily operations of a media center including equipment distribution and operator scheduling and training.
Topics of Discussion
Marketing campus services beyond pamphlets and flyers.
Set home page on the classroom computer to CS web page.
Phone number in classroom
Send e-mails, with who and what CS is and does and how to obtain training if requested.
Columbia State Community College also does the same with the CS webpage, phone number/e-mail and e-mail, but they wait a day or two after summer break so instructors have a chance to clear out SPAM e-mails.
College has a general session at the beginning of Fall semester where all staff and faculty come together and the different division heads talk about what they do.
CS also targets faculty with a mid-semester e-mail reminding them of services.
Penn College holds an information session once a month highlighting a different division each time where Staff are introduced.
Hampden-Sydney College puts a laminated bookmark with contact information for computer and software help.
Indiana University South Bend has a Mac Mini with Keynote to advertise services.
Use the University portal to post ads and target users by roles sometimes pointing to the CS blog with updates about services.
University of New Bruinswick experimented with an open house as well as host teaching showcases and events.
University of Georgia does showcases in the office highlighting what they do. They also have a channel on Campus TV and advertises for their or other departments.
Kent State has a committee that investigates ways of marketing service including a newsletter, digital signage and leverages a link they have with a reporter at the student newspaper.
William-Patterson University does a meet and greet with the whole team to go to the classrooms and help Faculty in the classroom to show them how to use the equipment and get to know them.
Niagra University invites themselves to the new faculty orientation to give a presentation to new faculty on services and hand out contact information.
Iowa State uses the projector startup screens to give users contact info. (see your manufacturer for info)
It can sometimes take a while for whatever method you use to get the word out to work, so stay with it a while!
Indiana University provides contact info on the control system login screen and uses a label-maker as well for redundancy. The background on laptop computers also has the contact info.
Plymouth State University, take the admin assistants out to lunch and talk up Campus Services and maintaining contact.
Help desk technology
University of Maryland uses ITSM tracking system that the entire IT department uses and finds it useful so that things can be passed on to the appropriate units within the greater IT department.
Eastern Washington University uses two separate help desks, one for faculty and one for students. The faculty desk creates tickets for CS.
The issue of getting folks to actually enter problems into a tracking system, especially during busier times.
Northeastern University has a problem with help desk in that it is a general help desk and instructors don’t like to call a number, then have a menu system to navigate. Helpdesk employees are required to try and resolve the issue over the phone and instructors are now simply calling with their room info and asking for help and hanging up. The techs are paged with a problem call, but the delay is sometimes so long that classes are excused or over by the time help arrives.
Indiana University dispatches techs by two-way radio and tries to resolve issues over the phone when possible.
Most Universities use phone and e-mail to let faculty contact the help desk. Some are using instant messaging as well.
How to get into the classroom without being there
A consensus feels that clear, simple instructions on how to use the equipment helps instructors to avoid problems and serves as a reference while on the phone with the help desk.
Boston College has installed a mock classroom in the CS office to train faculty without having to find an empty classroom. Faculty can do a training on their schedule.
North Eastern is gearing up to use remote monitoring of controllers, computers and projectors to detect actual problems and quickly deal with minor, user error issues.
Indiana University is using Crestron’s X-Panel to remotely view the touchpanel and correct user error issues.
York College starts staff early to get into the classroom and find problems before classes.
Using remote monitoring software like Roomview saves time by alerting CS to lamp hour warnings and control system or projector problems, thus finding problems before faculty experience them.
IUPUI uses Roomview to automatically shut down projectors when not in use and when an instructor is having ongoing issues, uses the logs to determine if there is a programming problem or a training issue.
Projection technology changes Hi-Def, 16:9 etc
UNLV is installing 16:9 screens in all new installs without the accompanying projectors.
CAT5 Extenders would seem to be a good solution to getting digital signals up to the projector, however, in practice things like electrical interference from the lights becomes a problem.
Iowa State is using CAT5 extenders for RS232 and VGA with success, but 1 of 5 of their DVI installs won’t work.
CAT5 cable is not as robust as coax cable when pulling, so this may be contributing to issues.
Safety Systems
Indiana University has standardized on Connect Ed to notify students, faculty and staff of emergencies by phone, e-mail, SMS text or tele-type.
E2Campus is another system that allows recipients to determine the method they will receive the messages.
Wheaton College is using a digital clock in each office to send notifications on emergencies.
Kansas is looking at a reverse ring-down system that calls every phone on campus. An emergency notification system via Cell Phone. The third is a fire system that can push out an audio message.