IT SERVICES AT SUSSEX

This is the continuation of my previous post on IT Services at Sussex.

The IT Services Department is one of the main service departments within the University and it provides service for many of the academic and non-academic activities of the University. Its mission - “To provide those high-quality computing, networking and support services that are necessary to enable the University to fulfill its corporate mission and academic departments to meet their objectives”. ITS has set its goals and objectives and these are linked with the objectives and goals of the University.

IT Services staff work in the following groups:

Client Services who provide information, support and training to the staff and students who use IT Services. The staff in this group also support office computers for academic and professional services staff, the PCs and printers in cluster rooms and audiovisual equipment in general teaching space.

Corporate Information Systems comprises the Business Applications team (formerly BIS) who support the University's information and administrative procedures, and the databases that underpin these, the Projects & Business Analysis team who provide support and management to IT Services across its portfolio of projects and services, and the Learning Systems team who provide the virtual learning environment for the University and develop the audiovisual technology.

Infrastructure Services who are responsible for the design, development and day to day operation of the campus network, central data storage and related services, the design and deployment of staff and student workstations and the provision of external connectivity.

The IT policies of Sussex are:

a)      University Policies: University of Sussex Ordinances & Regulations, Information Security Policy, Regulations for the use of Information & communication Technology, Information Security Website.

b)     IT Services Policies: Policy on file space, Policy on Connection of personally-owned desktop computers to the Campus network, Policy on Communication.

IT surveys: IT Services invites all first year undergraduates to complete an online survey to get feedback on their first experiences of using IT at Sussex. Based on the feedback the decisions and actions are taken.

Problems: For any IT related problems/requests, user can contact by email- support@its.sussex.ac.uk or phone or visit ITS in person. Once it is reported to ITS, it automatically enters a job queuing and processing system called Request Tracker (RT). In such circumstances an automatic email will be sent acknowledging the request and showing  a ticket reference - a unique reference to the request - in the Subject line of the email. The ticket reference looks like this:[sussex.ac.uk #nnnnn] where nnnnn is a number.

One can book a helpdesk appointment for any trouble with personally-owned computer; helpdesk advisors are available at IT Services. It is a 30 minute appointment with an IT Services Advisor and is free of charge. However if one fails to attend then s/he will be charged a ‘non attendance’ fee of £ 5.00, and person will not be eligible to receive any further support for personally owned equipment, nor will be able to attend any IT services training courses until this fee is paid. Appointments can be cancelled in advance either in person or by phone.

ITS News:  “ITS News” is published in every term. It’s a 4 page (A4 size) news letter. Through this, information on new software, developments at ITS, programmes, feedback reports and staff news are communicated.

Training:

Information Technology (IT) training is available at Sussex to develop basic computing skills Courses are available for both students and staff and range from introductions for users with very little experience to more advanced topics. The courses are conducted at three different levels:

• Level 1 indicates an introductory course
• Level 2 indicates an intermediate/follow on course
• Level 3 indicates an advanced/follow on course

Courses for staff:

Basic training in the use of audiovisual technology in the teaching rooms at Sussex.

Online resources:

There are a number of resources and online training courses which are useful for building knowledge in specialised areas.

Book a course: one can book for courses through Sussex Direct. Many courses are only run on demand. One's name is added to the waiting list and ITS will contact him/her when the course is scheduled.