Using Students Assistants to Address the IT Support Crisis – Can it work in Community Colleges?

Using Students Assistants to Address the IT Support Crisis – Can it work in Community Colleges? Steven Saltzberg (TLT Group) Beth Schaefer (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) Euriael Jordan (Milwaukee Area Technical College) The League for Innovation – Conference on Information Technology. Milwaukee Wisconsin 2003

Today’s Presentation • Definitions • Institutional Buy-in • Obstacles and Solutions • University of Wisconsin • Program • Outreach • Milwaukee Area Technical College

What Elements Constitute an STA Plus Program?(all elements are not part of all programs) • Campus Technology Support & Service • Suite of Work Opportunities • Value Added Student Experience • Student Teams, Managed, Staffed • Professional & Personal Development • Relate to faculty as colleagues • Real Work - Real Career Beginnings Bottom Line – Most cost effective way to reach desired level of service.

Characteristics of Most STA Plus Programs • Improve support at lower cost than any other option • Major Student Training Program involved • Rely on, and develop, students to manage program • Include students from technical & non-technical disciplines • Service Learning Opportunities • Students ‘learn by teaching’ • Enable IT Professionals to better use their expertise

What Can STAs Do? • Campus Lab Operation • Network Support • Data Center Operation • Help Desk Operation • Equipment Distribution • Telephone Service • Web Site Design & Maintenance • Classroom Support • Video/media Production • One-on-one Faculty Support • Application Development • Training & Internal Development • Distance Learning Support

Buy-in: The Principle The Concept: Bringing the Entire Campus on board However convinced we are of the efficacy of STA programs, we are not the only stakeholders who need convincing! How important is buy-in to program success? Very!

Buy-in: Stakeholders What audiences need to be addressed? Board Administration Faculty Students Parents How do you address various audiences? Meetings Surveys Marketing material (e.g., in back to school packets)

Often HeardObstacles • I’m already too busy to start something new! • Tech Professionals don’t think they can rely on students. • Faculty members don’t trust students for skills, reliability, discretion ……. • Students leave too soon to be worth the time and cost to train them. • Can we find quality students?

Often HeardObstacles • I’m too busy to start something new! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There is no magic bullet. The building of an STA Plus program takes work, and its continuance takes care and feeding. The upside is the end game is worth it. Also the TLT Group has assembled a series of resources that will make the transition easier. • STA Plus Workbook ( planning tasks, training schedules, job descriptions, evaluations, and even a sample budget). • On-site and telephone consulting to assist an institution during the startup phase.

Often HeardObstacles • Tech Professionals don’t think they can rely on students. --------------------------------------------- With proper training and careful placement, students can do very professional work. The professional IT staff, in quality STA Plus programs actually experience a very different reality: the STAs are able to take a significant amount of the pressure off them because more individual needs are being met across the institution.

Often HeardObstacles • Faculty members don’t trust students for skills, reliability, discretion ……. ---------------------------------------------------------- In part, this obstacle is a reflection of the vulnerability faculty feel when the student-teacher role is reversed. At South Dakota State University their STA Program includes a class on adult learning issues so that the STAs are better prepared to work smoothly and closely with faculty. A measure if its success is that more faculty are requesting support from STAs.

Often HeardObstacles • Students leave too soon to be worth the time and cost to train them. -------------------------------------------------- The role of higher education is to prepare students for the rest of their lives. Preparing them for future jobs, and then have them leave, is what higher education does! This obstacle is potentially more difficult for the two year community college. At Mesa Community College in Arizona, they have a very active STA program where there are more applicants than open STA positions.

Often HeardObstacles • Can we find quality students? -------------------------------------------- Many programs are experiencing the opposite situation. At Mesa College, at South Dakota State University, and at the University of Western Cape, South Africa, they have more students wanting these positions than open positions. Most interesting is the experience at the University of Western Cape, South Africa whose program started in 1999, and by 2000 STAs were already leaving for "real jobs" that they would not have gotten without the technology skills that the STA program developed. And once other students found out, everyone wanted to be an STA!

What is STS? • Worked Based Learning Organization • Student Managed and Staffed • All Face-to-Face Service Delivery

Program Overview • Structured Organization • Defined Roles and Expectations • Extensive Training Curriculum • Professional Mentors & Advisors • Peer Mentors & Advisors • Responsibility, Authority, Accountability • Empowered Paraprofessional Staff

STS Employment Requirement • Personality • Interpersonal Skills • Willingness to Learn Fast & Work Hard Wage Structure • $6.50 to $13.00 (Avg $7.40) Based on: *Position *Professional Development *Performance

STS Benefits Students • Technical Training and Development • Interpersonal Skills Enhancement • Supervisory, Growth Opportunities • Professional Work Environment • Discipline, Teamwork, Project Mgmt • Empowerment, Relevant Experience • Career Options, Step Up the Ladder

STS Benefits the University • Service Efficiencies -  • Service Effectiveness -  • Permanent Staff Interruptions -  • Permanent Staff Time on Task -  • New Services Have Been Added • Cost of Delivery -  • User Satisfaction -  (a lot )

STS Benefits Potential Employees • New Employee Training Costs -  • New Employee Training Time -  • New Employee is Productive Sooner • New Employee Retention is Higher • 5:1 Ratio Leverage on Training Cost

5th Annual STS Conference June 2004 • STS Conference at UW- Milwaukee • Student Designed, Student Directed • Multiple Tracks, Student Centered • Exchange Information with Other Student Employee Development Programs • Programs From Around the Country Presenting

STS benefits the 2 year Technical College • STS student development focuses on transition to “Real World” • Students are engaged in project oriented worked • Balanced development of interpersonal, organizational and technical skills

Resources to Help Build Your STA Program • Additional ideas and resources at http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/sta.htmlhttp://www.uwm.edu/IMT/STS/ • The STA Plus Workbook • TLTG STA Consulting Services • Assessing Current Environment • Hands-on Support to Build/Upgrade STA Programs • University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee STS Program • Providing resources and consultation

Using Students Assistants to Address the IT Support Crisis – Can it work in Community Colleges? Questions Conversations Contact Information Steve Saltzberg saltzberg@tltgroup.org Beth Schaefer beths@uwm.edu Euriael Jordan jordaner@matc.edu For more Information: http://www.tltgroup.org/league2003cit.htm

Using Students Assistants to Address the IT Support Crisis – Can it work in Community Colleges?