I wanted to share with you the most recent results from the ITS section of this year’s Survey of Administrative Services. The results of the survey show that satisfaction with ITS decreased slightly from 2018. The survey makes clear that ITS needs to continue to focus attention on providing high-quality support for our colleagues.

In 2019, overall satisfaction with ITS decreased from 3.99 to 3.96 on a scale of 1 to 5 (see Figure 1). Although the decline is small, I am concerned about any decline in overall satisfaction and I will work closely with the ITS team to turn the trend back around.

Questions related to satisfaction with ITS staff showed modest declines in two key areas: the timeliness of our responses and the regularity of updates around requests (see Figure 2). This information points to the two key areas we will be working on in the coming year.

From left to right in Figure 2:
— ITS staff are courteous
— ITS staff are professional
— ITS staff are knowledgeable
— ITS staff resolve my requests in a timely manner
— ITS staff resolve my requests without errors
— ITS staff provide regular communication about the status of my requests

When I contact ITS, I have confidence my requests will be resolved to my satisfaction

Responses to questions related to ITS’ Continuous Improvement efforts were very similar to last year and even showed some minor increases. Consistent and dependable communication will continue to be a significant focus area for us in 2020.

From left to right in Figure 3:
— I have the right technology tools I need to do my job effectively
— I know how to use the technology I need to do my job effectively
— I have the right level of support to use technology effectively
— I know how to get training when I need to learn new technology
— I know how to find information about the status of technology issues or problems on campus
— ITS keeps me aware of changes to technology that will impact my work

Taken as a whole, my conclusion is that ITS must pay close attention to being consistent, dependable, and communicative. We must also work to decrease the time needed to complete requests.

One step, in particular, that we will be taking this year involves the use of remote support software to connect to users’ computers to resolve issues remotely. Although this may cause some concerns, I want to reassure you that the software system we are using requires you to authorize access each session before a technician can connect remotely. We will be slowly rolling out this capability over the next few months.

As I close, I want to emphasize how important your participation in the Survey of Administrative Services is to me and the rest of the ITS team. Every member of the ITS department reviews the results and the administration team reviews all comments in addition to careful analysis of the results. We then develop initiatives to help improve service based directly on the results of the survey. Thank you for taking your time to help us improve our service.  We are paying close attention to your voices.

— Chris Gill, Chief Information Technology Officer