Information Services - Multi-discipline Academic Computing Labs Terms of Service  

Information Services Links New and Prospective Students Student Guides and Help Student Computer Labs Faculty/Staff Guides and Help Policies

The Information Services management created this document to detail what you, the instructor, can expect from us when you request academic computing support. This document addresses the support of multi-discipline academic computer labs only. This agreement does not apply to computers used in individual faculty offices or single discipline computer labs. For support of individual faculty office computers, see the Technical Support Terms of Service document. Single discipline computer lab support is the responsibility of the section with stewardship of the lab.

We have included information about:

The labs we support The services we provide The services we do not provide Lab software What you can do to help us help you What to do if you're not satisfied with our service or result

Labs we support:

TECH 215/219 - Instructional computing labs SWRZ 216 - Instructional computing lab TECH 265 - The student computing lab is for students to complete their homework, conduct research, and communicate with the faculty and other students. Individual faculty and staff may use the lab if computers are available. This lab is not designed as an instructional computer lab. In TECH 265, students will find computers running the standard lab software image . Current operating hours of the lab are posted in the lab, around campus, online, and with the campus operator. TECH 164 - This unattended student computing lab is designed to support student computing requirements when T265 is not open. This lab is accessible when the Technology building is open and T265 is closed. Current operating hours of the lab are posted in the lab, around campus, online, and with the campus operator.

Services we provide:

Coordination with faculty to determine lab academic software and performance requirements The setting for faculty to test and confirm the curricular applicability and configuration of academic software Installation, configuration, and maintenance of all software in the labs we support A response system for timely reporting and correcting of lab problems Trouble-shooting for hardware and software problems in the labs Basic server support for the labs E-mail and Internet connectivity in the labs

Services we do not provide	Alternative Source
Funding for:
Academic software Faculty office computers or peripherals Computers for single discipline labs Special academic computing projects	Academic section and/or Vice Chancellor for Academic Services; Grants
Assistance to students in academic subjects	Instructors
Support for single discipline computer labs	Academic section with stewardship of the lab
Floppy disks or other removable media	Campus bookstore, local supply stores, academic sections
Schedule instructional lab use (TECH 215, TECH 219, SWRZ 216)	Alice Yacullo , ext. 5341

Lab Software
Information Services installs, maintains, adds, or changes the lab software as described below:

1. Productivity Software and Operating Systems Information Services will purchase, install, and maintain basic productivity software (e.g., MS Office XP, Internet Explorer, Netscape, student e-mail application) and operating system (e.g., Windows 2000) in the labs we support under the terms of this agreement. 2. Academic Software Information Services will install, maintain, add, or change the configuration of academic software in the labs covered under the terms of this agreement. Changes to the standard lab software load are to be coordinated through the Academic Computing Advisory Committee, via procedures and timelines described on the Proposed Lab Software Changes web page. Additional faculty considerations for the academic lab software load include: Funding and purchase approval from the appropriate academic department chair and the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Delivery of procured software & licenses to IS in accordance with published software testing dates . Requested software should be properly tested during official testing periods. If special instructions are required for students we will ask you to write a basic instructional manual for the student lab assistants so they may help your students throughout the semester. Under normal circumstances, once the software and operating system configuration are identified, tested, and installed on the lab server and computers, the Information Services staff will not make any changes during an academic semester. If faculty have any questions about these policies and procedures, they should contact the Academic IT Manager by email or phone (ext. 5542).

To request assistance from the Information Services staff, contact the Information Services Help Desk. The help desk is physically located in Tech 249. You can reach the operator by phone at ext. 5511 or via e-mail to helpdesk@pnc.edu . The Information Services Help Desk hours of operation, as well as work order priority assignment information, are contained in the Help Desk Terms of Service document.

What you should provide when contacting the help desk

Personal information	Your name, network username, phone number, building, room number, academic section
Computer information	Lab you intend to use, special peripherals you require

It is the individual faculty member's responsibility to:

Fully comply with the policies & procedures listed above, including the request & testing information published online . This also includes upgrades of software currently installed on the standard software load, as new versions must be properly submitted to IS per ACAC approved timelines if it is to be included for testing & distribution. Provide early coordination with Information Services when new lab support requirements are determined. Software installation in the lab setting may require extensive testing by the Information Services staff to confirm no unexpected conflicts arise with previously installed titles. This testing must occur prior to faculty testing, which in turn must occur before the software is distributed to the labs.

Questions and concerns
If you have any questions or concerns about the services you receive from the Academic IT staff of Information Services you may choose to speak to someone in authority. Some of the reasons you may wish to elevate the attention of your problem are:

The Academic IT/lab staff was rude. The Academic IT/lab staff was not available during the published normal hours of operation. You did not receive a response from the staff or your request could not be implemented within the timeline specified in this agreement. The Information Services staff did not consult with you. Follow up was not done or not done correctly.

To elevate your call, please contact one of the following:

Glen Piper , Manager, Academic Information Technology, ext. 5542 Dan Burns , Director, Information Services, ext. 5377 G.W. Back , Vice-Chancellor, Administrative Services, ext. 5400

If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please feel free to email the Lab Coordinator.