Improving the Student Technology Support Experience

A CIO Council strategic initiative, this cross-organization, collaborative initiative will improve the student technology support experience, allowing students to connect quickly and seamlessly to the help they need. We aim to minimize the time, effort, and energy students spend getting support for technology services so they can focus on learning, research, and teaching.

 

Connect Student Support Teams. We’ve created a network of student support teams who meet regularly to identify pain points, share knowledge, and improve processes between teams.

Leverage Common Infrastructure. We will create a common gateway for students to find the support they need and centralize support teams on one ticketing system. 

Enhance Transparency and Visibility. We will create dashboards for all student support stakeholders to ensure critical information flows smoothly between departments.

Model Financial Sustainability. We will explore a sustainable models to manage predictable and significant increases in demand for support during busy seasons.

Incorporate Student Voice. We will launch a student advisory program to surface and define problems students are experiencing.

The Improving the Student Support Experience initiative will help connect students to the best support team and increase the availability of student-focused self-help resources. This student-centric approach leverages common infrastructure, reduces the number of times students submit the same issue to multiple teams, and reduces time to resolution. We will also launch a student advisory program, possibly in partnership with residential neighborhoods.

By connecting student support teams across Stanford, we’ve identified common pain points and established communication channels between teams to improve call and ticket transition processes between teams. We will create dashboards for all stakeholders responsible for supporting students with the goal of increasing transparency and visibility. This collaborative network approach will encompass continuous learning and improvement, and help flag trending issues across campus.

 

Leaders need to know what issues are trending and what rumors might be spreading to prepare and be proactive in responses and communication. We will generate a model for surge support during busy seasons and for complex events such as commencement to ensure that predictable and significant increases in demand are met in a timely manner. In addition, we will provide joint training so support staff can support other teams and increase efficiency. 

Learn more about Improving the Student Technology Support Experience, including details about the initiative, specific deliverables, and metrics for success:

Interested in joining the coalition? Reach out to us at stutechexp@stanford.edu.