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Technology Support Program Shapes New Leadership and Focus
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Technology Support Program Shapes New Leadership and Focus
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Is there someone in your department or college, like a computer resource specialist or system administrator who helps you with your computer when something on it breaks? Ever wonder how this person plugs into Information and Educational Technology (IET)? Well, IET's conduit to campus technology professionals is the Technology Support Program (TSP), a program that under the direction of TSP Coordinator Tecoy Porter has grown into a community of support personnel bent on helping each other. Looking to the Future
Porter recently left the university to pastor his church, leaving this key position unfilled... and providing an opportunity to re-think the role of the TSP Coordinator and ensure a good fit with the campus' needs. "We are rewriting the coordinator position so that it better aligns with the strategic direction the campus is taking with technology and integrates with the newly formed workgroups and committees, such as the Technology Infrastructure Forum," says Pat Kava, manager of IET's Technology Coordination Unit. Kava, who oversees the TSP, is assuming the role of interim TSP Coordinator while the position is redefined and eventually filled. Kava says the position should be posted in April. More on the TSP
The TSP includes six IET staff members, called Information Technology Representatives (ITRs) who support members of the campus technical community through training and communication. To benefit from the program, campus technology professionals must join the TSP and become Technology Support Coordinators (TSCs). So, what do TSCs get when they join? Access to technology training on topics ranging from basic HTML to Linux security and several certificate programs such as Web development and NT Server. They also get access to a widely-used listserv, tsp-share@ucdavis.edu, to which they can post questions and issues and receive answers from their technical peers, usually in minutes. ITRs post current issues and outages to the list. The TSP also holds well-attended quarterly meetings in which TSCs and IET staff share their projects, services, issues, and success stories. This year, there are 384 campus departmental staff enrolled in the program, up from 30 in June 1995 when the program was initiated. Becoming a TSC
To become a TSC, simply fill out the Authorization Form. It will generate a letter which must be signed and returned to the TSP by your department manager. You will then receive a confirmation letter via campus mail with your orientation date, time, and location.For more information, check out the TSP Web site at http://tsp.ucdavis.edu/. |
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