George Washington University Adds Walk-In Tech Support
George Washington University is continuing to buck the outsourcing trend for tier 1 technical support with the recent expansion of its in-house tech support services. The university already offers 24-hour in-house tech support, and has now added Tech Commons, a new walk-up IT help desk to provide in-person tech support for faculty, staff, and students.
The walk-up help desk is a partnership between the university's Division of Information Technology, which supports technology in offices, residences, and administration, and Academic Technologies, which supports technology for teaching and learning.
Tech Commons is housed in Gelman Library, the university's largest library, which is located at the center of campus. According to the university, the partnership between the Division of IT and Academic Technologies, as well as the centralized location, serve to provide faculty, students, and staff with a wide variety of services in one place without the need to schedule an appointment.
Services available at Tech Commons include:
- Computer tune-ups and maintenance;
- Residence hall telephone, Internet, and cable TV support;
- Mobile device configuration and support;
- Dell and Apple warranty repairs;
- Virus and malware computer cleaning;
- Full support for both Windows and Mac operating systems; and
- Computer lab support.
While the Division of IT offers 24-hour tech support through its IT Support Center, the new Tech Commons help desk is not 24-hour, but does offer in-person support on evenings and weekends. The Division of IT offers support through Tech Commons during weekdays, weekday evenings, and Sunday evenings, while Academic Technologies provides additional support on weekend afternoons.
George Washington University in Washington, D.C. serves 25,000 students and employs nearly 1,200 full-time faculty.
Further information about George Washington University's Tech Commons walk-up help desk can be found at it.gwu.edu.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].