SLD OUCS IT Support Staff Services (ITS3)
Title of service: IT Support Staff Services (ITS3)
Status of Document: This document lists and describes the services offered by ITS3 in October 2006
[Reviewed with minor changes, Tony Brett, 30 August 2007]
[Reviewed with minor changes, Tony Brett, 29 May 2008]
[Reviewed with additon of hyperlinks, Wiki and IT review service, Tony Brett, 11 May 2009]
1. Introduction
IT Support Staff Services (ITS3) serves as a two-way channel for communication between OUCS the approximately 600 IT Support Staff (ITSS) in the Colleges and departments of the collegiate University. It works closely with all parts of OUCS, particularly the Help Centre and the Registration team, in order to provide fast-track access to those facilities. It monitors closely the work of the many OUCS departmental reps and strives always to keep the interests of the distributed IT Support Staff high up its priority list. ITS3 aims for an environment of 600 IT Staff collectively supporting the whole collegiate University rather than 600 IT Staff individually supporting their own small part of it.
ITS3’s work is particularly relevant to the following parts of OUCS’s mission:
- to promote effective communication throughout the University IT community.
- to contribute to the University's wide range of IT training and relevant training resources.
ITS3 supports distributed ITSS through the provision of central resources and organisation. ITS3 aims to foster community and sharing of expertise among ITSS and its goal is a spirit among ITSS of being part of a large team supporting the whole University rather than many individuals working in isolation. This is achieved by close working with the IT Support Staff Group and by organising the annual IT Support Staff Conference and the IT Suppliers Exhibition, along with many other ITSS events.
2. Summary of OUCS’s Responsibilities
2.1 The service operates 8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and on a best-endeavours basis outside of these hours.
2.2 The service aims for all email queries to receive a response from a staff member within one working day .
2.3 works with senior OUCS staff and other members of the University to ensure the interests of ITSS are considered in any relevant decisions and discussions.
2.4 represents ITSS on relevant national and international bodies where appropriate and will recommend to ITSS any conferences that may be of value.
2.5 provides career and personal development advice to ITSS and will either help or refer ITSS to competent bodies in case of employment or other work-related difficulties.
2.6 maintains a web site and a Wiki, both aimed at IT support staff to provide general support tools and internal administration information.
2.7 runs email lists to promote discussion and disseminate information to ITSS, and is also contactable via its3@oucs.ox.ac.uk .
2.8 maintains a list of ITSS telephone contact details for use in emergencies
2.9 will provide technical advice and support on systems provided by ITSS outside of OUCS on a best-endeavours basis. If a fuller service is required or there is an ongoing requirement for support then ITSS may recommend using the services of the NSMS section of OUCS.
2.10 does not have the staff resources regularly to attend ITSS in their own colleges or departments however such visits can be arranged on a case-by-case basis where necessary and feasible.
2.11 has expertise in IT Staff Recruitment and appraisal and will provide support and assistance to Colleges and Departments in recruiting IT Staff, including acting as part of a recruitment panel, assisting with appraisals, or providing other OUCS staff for these services.
2.12 acts as a broker in arranging cover for planned and unplanned extended absence of IT Support Staff in Colleges and departments.
2.13 is the intermediary for ITSS requiring SSL server certificates from the JANET Server Certificate Service. ITS3 verifies and approves applications from ITSS.
2.14 deals with copyright infringement notices caused by copyrighted material on peer-to-peer programs on users' computers. ITS3 contacts ITSS for the offending users and manages cleanup, removal of service blocks, and administrative fees.
2.15 collaborates with other parts of OUCS to provide a set of online tools for ITSS to assist in management of their of users
2.16 collaborates with other parts of OUCS to assist ITSS in dealing with specific security issues and planned upgrades, network changes etc.
2.17 Administers the group membership scheme for Oxford University of the British Computer Society
2.18 maintains a central source of information about training and events relevant to IT Support Staff and provides regular email bulletins to ITSS as appropriate.
2.19 organises training courses for ITSS provided in-house and bought in from external trainers. These courses are run on a cost-recovery basis so inclur a charge but represent a much cheaper option for ITSS than attending training outside Oxford and incurring travel, board and subsistence expenses.
2.20 hosts update seminars from IT Suppliers once or twice per term and deliver technical seminars of interest to ITSS, particularly when new products or technologies become available.
2.21 delivers ITSS seminars and updates on any new OUCS services, or impending changes to existing OUCS services, in advance.
2.22 disseminates, to ITSS, information about any changes to University Regulations, IT Services provided by other parts of the University, or to UK legislation (e.g Data Protection, Freedom of Information etc.)
2.23 facilitates communication between OUCS technical experts and distributed ITSS.
2.24 runs induction seminars at least twice annually (usually quarterly) so that IT Support Staff are aware of the services available from OUCS and of strategic IT issues in the Collegiate University.
2.25 organises, on behalf of The ICT Forum, an annual conference for IT Support Staff in the summer and an annual IT Suppliers Exhibition in the winter.
3. Summary of Clients' responsibilities
3.1 ITSS are required to register on the IT Support Staff Register before they may use ITS3’s services.
3.2 ITSS are required to abide by the University IT Regulations and to comply with any relevant legislation.
3.3 ITS3 strives to be courteous, polite and efficient to all its customers at all times and expects the same from them in return.
4. Premium Services
4.1 Will hire out laptops to ITSS to cover urgent need for example to temporarily replace damaged or faulty machines or to support conferences. A printer and networking equipment (including wireless) are also available at a reasonable charge.
4.2 Will undertake IT reviews for departments, divisions or colleges. This service will be charged at the standard NSMS hourly rate.
