Working Together: Giving Students the Professional Edge Erin Nettifee Resnet Student Technology Conference July 2011 A Case Study at Duke University
Dec 26, 2015
Working Together: Giving Students the Professional Edge
Erin NettifeeResnet Student Technology Conference
July 2011
A Case Study at Duke University
Today’s presentation
• Introduction to Duke and Duke IT• Program Structure – a 3 year story• Year One– Trial by Fire – benefits & challenges to staff
• Year Two– Growing young managers & continuous change
• Year Three– Service models & push for growth
• Lessons Learned and Next Steps
Duke University
~6500 undergraduates~7700 graduate students~8,000 campus staff
Not founded as Duke University until 1924
IT @ Duke
• Office of Information Technology (OIT)– Central IT support structure– Owns undergraduate student support– Main support located in Duke’s biggest library
Before the Link
• Student management part of Labs / Academic IT area
• Basic evening service (6 PM -11 PM) – student workers by themselves in campus libraries & labs
• Basic beginning of year training + monthly staff meetings
First Year: Structure & Changes
• Student Employee manager position becomes part of service desk department
• Students & full-time staff at walk-up service desk together, for first time
• Staff training expanded and more formalized• Link opens
Program Structure
Student Trainers
Tech Support Students
Multimedia Students
Full-time Multimedia Lab
Manager
Full-time Service Desk
Manager
Full-time Trainer
Student Employee
Program Mgr
Benefits for Students
• Asked them to develop a more mature understanding of how organization works
• Easier to crosstrain and explore different interests
• Aligning more closely with Service Desk led to higher expectations for job performance – pays off in job market
Challenges for Student Staff
• Asked them to develop a more mature understanding of how organization works– Not easy to have two managers
• Steep learning curve• Higher expectations in terms of professional
standards– What it means to have a job.
Benefits for Full-Time Staff
• Division of operational + administrative duties = more time for each area
• Centralized recruiting is a big win.
Benefits for Full-Time Staff
• Staff input into training (for their areas and others) means you trust students to do more.
Challenges for Full-Time Staff
• Time investment– We are always stretched thin.
• Cross-organizational demands– Stretched thin in our areas, AND have to
understand what’s going on elsewhere
Second Year: Structure & Changes
• Changes at Service Desk• Student Manager Program begins• Changes in Training Program• Addition of new program areas
Ticketing Systems
• Previous – students used survey system to record customer encounters
• Brought into OIT implementation of Remedy• First year: painful• Second year: better.
Changes in Training Program
• Addition of multimedia training for all staff
• Student managers instructing/teaching classes
Addition of New Program Areas
• News & Information– Lost an FTE position, not able to replace it– Grow an entirely new position in organization
• Community Outreach program– Formerly an FTE role– Stretching IT presence out to benefit partners and
resources
Third Year: Structure & Changes
• Multimedia Lab assessment & service model plan
• Growth of online training• Growth of Student Manager program
MPS Lab Service Model
• Summer 2010• http://sites.duke.edu/oit-mps/about/• Data & assessment driven questions about
how MPS lab is doing, and how our students are doing
• Important recognition of role of student staff for a crucial university service.
Growth of Online Training
• Duke uses Lynda.com• Student workers take advantage of resource to
learn– Particularly multimedia courses
• Just-in-time learning to supplement employee meetings and training
Growth of Student Manager Program
• Expanding student manager ranks from 4 to 7 students (roughly 1 per 4-5 front-line employees)
• Enforce high standards in terms of communication– Metaphor of classroom teacher– Explicit in tying job experience to interviewing for
real world jobs.
Where We Want to Go From Here
• Build a merit-based performance recognition process.
• Continue to focus on retention & morale.– Connecting job expectations now to professional
benefits down the road.• Figure out if we want to grow more, or if this
is the right size.
Questions?
Thanks for your time – and your feedback!http://www.resnetsymposium.org/rspm/evaluation/