The Information Technology and Communication office currently is considering the elimination of about two-thirds of its student jobs as part of a change in the technical help desk model, said Michael McPherson, University associate vice president and deputy chief information officer.
ITC currently employs about 90 students in various roles, including answering phones at the help desk, working at walk-in locations and serving as consultants in dormitories, he said. The new model would call for about 30 dormitory consultant jobs, while removing other positions, McPherson said.
For now, though, ITC student employees are guaranteed their positions through the end of this semester, McPherson said.
These job losses would result from a University-wide shift in help desk sourcing, said Terry Lockard, director of computing support services. Instead, help desk functions would be outsourced to a professional call center available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, she said. People seeking help would call the same number for assistance with ITC problems, the new Student Information System and administrative system, Lockard said.
Currently, ITC technical help is available by phone from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, excluding holidays, as well as at various walk-in consultation areas in libraries and computer labs. Other technical help, such as if an employee is having difficulties with his or her payroll, is available through separate phone numbers.
McPherson said there would be two main advantages to the new system. Right now, with different phone numbers for different types of assistance, “you have to do some of the problem solving yourself and decide who to call as the first step,” he said. Calling the same number regardless of the nature of a concern is a “real advantage,” he said, as is having coverage all day, everyday.
University groups are still determining the scope of this project, working out the fine details of what it would entail for both an outside company and the University, Lockard said. The proposal will be submitted to University administrators for approval during the next few months, she said. If approved, the University would enter into negotiations with a company and eventually reach a final contract.
“It looks like a very attractive option,” he said. “I think it would provide a better service, more hours of service, so I would like to see it work. [But] that doesn’t mean we’re going to make it happen no matter what.”
Most people using the service would probably not notice a change, aside from those who benefit from the extended hours, but it represents a major change from a structural and business system standpoint, McPherson said.
Though the change looks like a good deal, “we need to make sure that we do understand the cost structure,” he said. “We don’t want to get surprised one or two years from now.”
McPherson said it is important to understand how the volume and complexity of calls to the help desk might change the final cost of the proposal.
Lockard described the new model as “cost-neutral” for ITC because the funds allocated for students’ salaries would simply shift to an outside company.
“We’re not going to have a help desk here if we have one there,” she said. “We don’t need the people here answering the phone if we’ve outsourced it.”
Second-year College student Morgan Gibson, who works for ITC both at a self-help desk and in dormitories, said the University has not given student employees much information about the possible change, however. She was told that “it’s a possibility that it’ll be outsourced to the company, and that’s about it,” she said, and “just that probably towards the end of the semester, we probably won’t have jobs anymore.”
Gibson works an average of 15 to 20 hours a week, she said, spending between 10 to 12 hours at the help desk. Losing her job will limit her spending money, but she is less impacted than other students may be because she said she is not paying for school herself.
“I think if I have to, I can try to find another job,” she said. “But really, that’s it.”
Current ITC student employees without cars will be more affected because they may have difficulty finding jobs off-Grounds, Gibson said.
Even though fewer student employees may be available for in-person consultation, Gibson does not necessarily see this as a disadvantage in terms of service quality.
“We get a pretty large number of calls at the help desk everyday,” she said. “I would say 85 to 90 percent of those are solved over the phone.”
Fourth-year College student Monique Alofoje also said the on-call nature of the new model appeals to her.
“If you have a problem over the weekend, you shouldn’t have to wait until Monday to get it fixed,” she said.
She expressed some concern, however, about the lack of in-person assistance. It might always be “more helpful to have someone in person,” she said, adding that she worries that “[help over the phone] would take longer than if someone could actually looked at the computer.”
McPherson said ITC may bring back some of the walk-in consulting services if telephone service does not work as well as anticipated.
“Our initial thinking is that it could be handled over the telephone and that could provide a level of service that is quite satisfactory, but we’d have to calibrate that as we go along,” McPherson said.
Fourth-year College student Cory Caldwell said the effectiveness of the new help desk system would depend on individual circumstances.
“For some students, the change could become very useful,” Caldwell said. “I could imagine it being good for some people but worse for others.”
Read More
Presidential search committee holds first meeting, introduces search firm
By Cecilia Mould | YesterdayBoard of Visitors Rector Rachel Sheridan also introduced external search firm Isaacson, Miller, which will assist the committee in their search for the University’s next permanent president.
Archivist Report on Jim Ryan
By Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin | 2 days agoArchivists Finn Trainer and Clara Franklin recount Jim Ryan's tenure as the 9th President of the University.
Why did Student Council vote no confidence in the Board of Visitors?
By Lauren Seeliger | 4 days agoUltimately, Dickerson said during the Aug. 8 meeting that the decision to draft this resolution was not easy but was necessary so as to fulfill Student Council’s role.
