It is important to make various forms of technical support available both to newly
enrolled students (especially those who are beginning to study via technology) and to
continuing students. It is easy to assume
that a student who enrolls in an online course or program is already comfortable using
computers and knowledgeable about relevant communications tools. However, this is not
always true. Nor, in many cases, do students
know how to set up computer accounts. Much of
this aspect of an institution’s technical support is important to include in new
student orientation services (see that section of this Guide, above).
In
addition, however, continuing students will always require ongoing access to technical
support. In the absence of an established
technical support structure, faculty are likely to become the de facto providers of technical help to students,
which is far from an ideal situation. Most
institutions that rely on technology for instruction are now recognizing the importance of
establishing a systematic approach to providing students with technical support.
There
are two approaches to providing technical support—and both are necessary. First, it makes sense to prepare students to
handle many of their own basic technical support issues by giving them the necessary
information and means to do so. Secondly, regardless of how prepared your institution is
and how informed your students are, there will always be some technical support issues
that will require the rapid attention of a person on campus. A Help Desk that offers help
with technical questions is often the most logical solution. It should be accessible at off-hours as well as
regular business hours. Information on how to
contact the Help Desk -- either via email or by phone -- should be prominently featured on
your Web site.
A number of institutions have turned to commercial vendors to provide technical
support for their students. Some have found
that using an external source for this service has enabled them to make good technical
support available to students at less cost than providing the service themselves. Other schools, on the other hand, have determined
that they can do a better job on their own. Each
institution should arrive at a determination of which approach is better within its own
context.
Good Practice Recommendations
Describe services and provide introductory information.
Provide site visitors with an overview of
technical support services available from your institution. Define specific services and eligibility requirements.
(Washington State University)
Post scheduled network down times and maintenance.
Consider posting this information on
highly-visited Web pages well in advance to help students to plan accordingly. (University of Hawaii)
Provide
online tutorials and documents. Teach
students online how to operate their hardware and software to allow them to use it more
effectively and to reduce demands on staff. (Portland State University)
Provide self-help tools.
This
will enable students to research basic technical problems they are experiencing and
perform their own troubleshooting when it is possible. This approach enables students to quickly solve their own problems and also reduces
demands on staff. (Ohio University)
Offer assistance through a student help line/help desk. Be sure that students can contact staff with specific questions via telephone and email. Establish a required response time and inform students at the time of their inquiry when they can expect a response. Some institutions choose to outsource this function to a vendor. (Chemeketa Community College)