One of the most prominent complaints we heard in the survey was about a lack of communication, both in terms of understanding and in terms of being heard. For example, one commenter said that we need “[c]ommunication in simple terms. Use of technical terms from those most knowledgeable is frustrating. Step by step instructions are the most helpful.”
We also heard many times that the faculty feel out of the loop when technology decisions are made: “Faculty need to be consulted about the best times for systems to be down. Last year’s email upgrade during the Thanksgiving holiday was a disaster for both students and faculty.”
Our goal for the creation of the Technology Advisory Group (TAG) was to get to the root of this particular problem. We aim to be the middle man, a conduit through which information can flow in both directions between the faculty and Information Resources (IR). We see our role as translating back and forth between IR and the faculty, helping IR understand what faculty needs are and helping faculty understand what IR’s constraints (whether financial, technical, or legal) are. Our overarching goals are:
- To ensure that whenever a decision is being made about technology will significantly affect faculty, faculty will have a voice in the decision, and
- To ensure that information about technology decisions being made on campus is shared with the faculty in a responsible, transparent, concise, and understandable way.
We’re currently working on developing a policy that would codify faculty involvement in important technology decisions. In the meantime, the members of TAG are available as resources to you if you have questions, comments, concerns, problems, needs, or wants when it comes to technology. Any feedback you share with us will be shared with our contacts in IR.
To get in touch with us, you can either use our contact form here on our website or send us an email at TAG-members@royallists.scranton.edu. If you want to be more involved in discussions about downtimes, subscribe to our discussion list.
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