Technology@Wooster

IT is very pleased to announce that Mary Schantz has been appointed Manager of User Services. Mary has served as Interim Manager of the department since May of this year. In her short time as Interim Manager, Mary oversaw the installation of over 300 computers on campus, the installation of four new computer labs, and the replacement of six others. She also launched an initiative to improve the effectiveness of the IT help desk. While ongoing, this initiative has already resulted in significant improvements in the quality of service. Also during her short time as Interim Manager, Mary hired three new User Support Specialists- -this represents three quarters of the department’s professional staff. Prior to being named Interim Manager, Mary served as User Support Specialist and as User Services Intern. Mary majored in Political Science at the College of Wooster and graduated in 2004.

Throughout her tenure in User Services Mary has provided excellent service to the Wooster community and, as Interim Manager, she has demonstrated that she is very well-equipped to lead that department. The Office of Information Technology is very grateful to Mary for accepting the responsibilities of this position on a permanent basis.

This summer three new employees assumed the position of User Support Specialist within the Department of User Services.

Leslie Worcester recently graduated from Oberlin where she majored in Psychology. Throughout her student years at Oberlin, Leslie worked for both the campus computer store and client services. This provided significant experience with computer installation and troubleshooting, user training and customer service. At Wooster, Leslie provides general user support, specializing on the Mac operating systems and applications. She also concentrates on the production of user documentation.

Michael Naylor graduated from Bowling Green in 1997 with a B.A. in Education. He then spent four years teaching Music and Band in grades 6 through 12. After this he spent four years at PPG Industries, first as Helpdesk Analyst and then as Business Systems Analyst. While at PPG Michael provided support for personal computers, printers, networks and software applications. He also developed training materials and conducted training for technical staff. At Wooster, Michael provides general user support, specializing on Windows operating systems and applications. Michael also concentrates on Windows computer imaging.

Robert Rybicki also comes to us from PPG Industries. He worked there as Systems Support Analyst from November, 2002 until joining The College in the summer of this year. In this role he provided technical support for both end users and helpdesk staff. He also developed documentation and provided training for new employees. At Wooster, Robert has assumed primary responsibility for help desk phone support. He also administers Track-It, the College’s new help desk call tracking software, and is responsible for tracking all incoming problem reports through to resolution.

IT is very please to welcome these folks to Wooster and to their new responsibilities. Each plays an important role in User Services’ initiative to improve the effectiveness of the help desk.

Leslie Worcester, Michael Naylor and Robert Rybicki

IT has launched an initiative to improve the quality of help desk service. Our initial focus is on improving phone coverage throughout the business day–and we have already significantly reduced call abandonment rates. This summer we began the implementation of a professional help desk call tracking system. This system will allow us to track each problem through to resolution, will facilitate communication between the user and the help desk, and will provide metrics to help us evaluate our performance. In an effort to provide easy access to our services, we have also developed a new help desk phone tree. The next time you have a technical question or problem, please call us at 330 287-3000, extension HELP (4357).

IT will pursue this initiative throughout the balance of the academic year. As we make new services available in conjunction with this initiative we will announce them here on the blog. Check back often.

We look forward to serving you better!