Development of a student-driven information technology support service.

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Information Technology Services
• Student Support

Background:

• Students increasingly rely on complex educational technology, straining existing campus IT support.
• Campus IT services often lack the capacity and specialized knowledge for pharmacy education-specific technology issues.
• A gap existed in providing immediate and relevant IT customer service to students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the establishment and impact of a student-led initiative to improve campus IT customer services.
• To address the specific information technology (IT) needs of students within a pharmacy education context.
• To explore a collaborative model involving students, staff, and faculty to enhance IT support.

Main Methods:

• A student-initiated technology user group, the Student Help Desk (SHD), was developed.
• The SHD provided support for student devices and access to curriculum technological resources.
• Data on cases addressed by the SHD were collected and analyzed over 24 months.

Main Results:

• The SHD addressed 259 cases over 24 months.
• Top reported issues included computer-based assessment, email synchronization, curriculum software synchronization, wireless printing, and encryption.
• These findings indicate perceived value and confidence in the SHD by students and faculty.

Conclusions:

• The SHD effectively resolved technology issues, enhancing student curriculum engagement.
• Student involvement in governance, even for IT services, demonstrates motivation and can address programmatic issues.
• A collaborative student-staff-faculty model can successfully bridge gaps in institutional services.