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41 Getting Students Off on the Right Foot: One Step Toward Building the Future at ISU
Linda
Hutchison, Iowa State University
Jay Hardcastle, Iowa State University
The Connected@Iowa State program is in its third year
in 2000 and we now have a comprehensive, year-long program to introduce
students to computing at Iowa State University and to provide top-notch
on-going support throughout their campus experience.
Our annual program starts anew each April with a
comprehensive booklet Connected@Iowa State mailed to all new in-coming
students. The 2000-2001 edition
provides information about:
How students use a computer during their academic
career at ISU.
Computer options...labs vs. purchase.
Computing support available at ISU.
Minimum standards and levels of support.
Buying strategies when purchasing a personal computer
for use at ISU.
This is followed closely by a mailing to parents about
buying a computer for their student.
“Connected” provides guidelines for purchasing a new computer, as well
as a checklist to determine if a computer they already own will connect to the
campus network and support the software distributed to students when they
arrive at ISU.
Students can visit our Back-to-School website
beginning in June for information about special computer bundles. Our Easy Early Order Program offers volume
discounts for a wide range of pre-configured systems. These configurations can be ordered and waiting for them when
they come to school in the fall.
Once students return to campus, we have a variety of
support options. Two sites are
available to provide technical assistance.
Our Solutions Center, open M-F 8am-5pm, is a central resource to help
students get connected to ISU’s network.
Our Solutions!CD contains our locally written Scout utility. Scout installs and configures software that
is compatible with the campus network.
For those who need hands-on assistance, we provide on-site service
through our SNAP (Student Network Access Project) program
For applications support our student-staffed Help Desk provides walk-in assistance on all operating systems supported by Academic Information Technologies – Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX. This service, available 24x7 including holidays and weekends, is housed in a large multi-platform computing lab in the Durham Center.
Keywords: student computing, RESnet, 24x7 support, Help Desk, customer service techniques