Putting Students First with Technology

  • 11/01/13

The world has grown increasingly reliant upon mobile technologies in recent years, and academia is no exception. Faculty want to be able to check email from their smartphones, administrators want the ability to access university systems when working remotely, and students expect to bring their laptops or tablet devices of preference into the classroom. To address all of these areas and continue Boise State University’s “students first” commitment, it was necessary that we re-engineer our help desk to better support today’s academic environment.

Boise State implemented a remote support solution in 2002 to provide hands on support at the point of contact with support to managed PCs on our network. The technology had several limitations, including complexity for the support personnel and that it was solely for the Windows platform. Since approximately 30 percent of our students are now relying upon Mac devices, this was a significant drawback.

Additionally, this legacy support tool didn’t enable us to assist individuals working off-campus, preventing us from fully serving our distance learning students and faculty when they travelled to conferences or were conducting research in the field.

We began looking for a remote support solution that could provide multiplatform support and ultimately selected Bomgar. We’ve seen a number of improvements. Instead of being limited to supporting only certain university-sanctioned applications and devices, we’re now confident in our ability to assist any end-user, regardless of what device or operating system he or she is using. In addition to meeting our BYOD support needs, the solution allows us to assist faculty, students and staff even when they’re not connected to the university’s network.

In addition to furthering our “students first” mission, our enhanced support environment has significantly improved our experience as help desk representatives. Not only has it eliminated the frustration of not being able to help a user due to device limitations, it also makes us much more efficient.

BOMGAR
WWW.BOMGAR.COM

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management November 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • MiEN Releases White Paper on Community College Space Innovation

    MiEN Company recently released a new white paper called “Designing New Innovative Spaces for Community Colleges” to address the needs of community colleges post-pandemic, according to a news release. The eight-page guide by Dr. Christina Counts, MiEN Company VP of Education and Marketing, covers topics like the enrollment drop that these schools have seen since COVID-19, the roles they play in higher education and local workforces, and five suggested key changes that can improve students’ experiences.

  • Image courtesy of Armstrong International

    The Modern Hot Water System Approach to Keep Higher Education Buildings Safe and Operational

    Higher education campuses face unique structural and operational demands. With a range of old and new buildings, a variety of facility types, and ambitious sustainability goals, it's essential that no aspect of infrastructural performance is overlooked. Facility managers must be equipped to provide a safe, reliable and efficient space for students, faculty and guests.

  • ProTeam Launches GoFit 6 HEPA Backpack Vacuum

    Technology leader Emerson recently introduced the new ProTeam GoFit 6 HEPA backpack vacuum, according to a news release. The vacuum was designed to capture 99.97% of particulates down to 0.3 microns—including atmospheric hazards like lead dust, mold spores, and other particulates—through an advanced filtration system.

  • Aims Community College to Build Workforce Innovation Center

    Aims Community College in Greeley, Colo., recently announced that it has broken ground on its new Aims Workforce Innovation Center (AWIC), according to a news release. The facility for workforce development, entrepreneurship, and education has a scheduled opening date of fall 2026.

Digital Edition