ERIC Number: EJ780030
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Nov-9
Pages: 1
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-5982
EISSN: N/A
Late-Night Stress on the IT Help Desk
Carnevale, Dan
Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n11 pA29 Nov 2007
With more and more students--especially those taking online courses--demanding access to technology help at all hours of the day and night, colleges are responding by extending help-desk hours. More than half are open late into the evening, according to a recent survey by Educause, the educational technology consortium, and a few are available 24/7. Colleges are not set up for the extra hours. Their staffs are too small, and their budgets too tight. Many institutions are outsourcing the service to Presidium and similar companies. Presidium's contracts with clients range from less than $15,000 per year to just over $1-million, depending on the size of the institution or university system and the services sold, such as what hours call takers will be available and what software the call takers will support. Most calls are usually not matters of life and death. Still, there is plenty of emotional drama, often in the form of 18-year-old students who are panicked about not getting an assignment done in time because of computer problems. Other companies besides Presidium provide 24/7 help-desk support, including PerceptIS, Learning House, and Connected Learning Network. None are as big as Presidium, which dominates the market. [This article was produced by the Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, DC.]
Descriptors: Online Courses, Educational Technology, Information Technology, Anxiety, Troubleshooting
Chronicle of Higher Education. 1255 23rd Street NW Suite 700, Washington, DC 20037. Tel: 800-728-2803; e-mail: circulation@chronicle.com; Web site: http://chronicle.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A