Changing responsibilities of the computer help desk

Presenter(s): 
Kimberly (Kim) Wiseman, University of Richmond, The T.C. Williams School of Law

With changing technology comes changing responsibility.  What your law school's computer help desk was doing on a daily basis only five years ago is much different than the expectations of it today.  What is our responsibilities to our students?  What goods and services should we still be providing?  Are we in the position to even say "no - we don't support that" anymore? Do we even still need computer help desks?
Student expectations change frequently.  They are demanding that all devices they own, which can get a wifi signal, should work on our network.  They sometimes want to buy inexpensive devices (such as Chromebooks) and wonder loudly why exam software doesn't run on them.  They want all charges available to them if they leave theirs at home and are not interested in the good, bad, and ugly of what a Universal charger can provide.  Printing is changing - so are more students reading online?  What support do we give to e-readers of all flavors?  What are new attorney's expectations of law firms that hire them with regard to their IT needs?
Faculty expectations are changing too.  Do we provide iPads for travel?  Are tablets "too personal" for public use?  What about library patrons?
I propose working with other law schools who are faced with similar questions and present ideas about what the future holds for the computer help desk.  Will we ever find ourselves hanging out with the Maytag repair guy?

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