TSU Staffing

Uncertainty is making staffing difficult.

As previously noted our Service Desk Team Leader has taken 4 months leave without pay to take up a contract with the help desk for a federal government department and is not expected to return. With the staff freezes on, we are unable to replace him.

Network Manager has agreed to act as the TSU Manager for the next couple of months while the future of the provision of IT services within the University becomes clearer. She will be working 4 days a week in the role (she doesn’t work on Fridays). I will be working on a number of projects within the Division, and will be available to work with the TSU on any issues that arise. I will also continue with administering purchasing and reporting to the Division.

Staff movements

Increased mobility of staff can be a problem.

The TSU welcomes back our Network Manager after her year away on secondment to ICT Services, and Maternity Leave.

At the same time our Service Desk Team Leader has taken four months leave without pay on contract to a Federal Department as an IT Trainer.

In light of the current instability in the University’s organization of ICT Services, there are no plans to replace the Service Desk Team Leader at this time. There will therefore be no training available from the TSU, and the Helpdesk Manager position will not be filled. Consequently there will be a reduction in services available generally from the TSU

Alan Nicol’s retirement

Celebrating almost 34 years at CCAE/UC.

After almost 34 years at the Canberra College of Advanced Education and the University of Canberra, the Division’s Audiovisual Officer Alan Nicol is retiring on 24 November 2006.

Alan started with Science at the CCAE in early 1973, coming to Canberra for the job from the Darling Downs Institute of Education where he was a lab technician in Biology. After three years in Science, Alan took a one-year appointment with the School of Teacher Education videotaping trainee TAFE teachers to provide them with feedback on their performance. The one-year appointment was made permanent and Alan has stayed with the School and now the Division providing production support in video, photography, desktop publishing and graphic design ever since.

Alan leaves us to take up fishing, painting, photography, graphic design and lying by the pool in a professional and amateur capacity! Our best wishes for a comfortable post-University experience go with him: the Division will miss his services and him around the campus.

Please encourage staff to join us at the Staff Club on Wednesday, 22 November 2006 at 4pm to celebrate Alan’s time at UC and to launch his retirement.

TSU Short Staffed

Staff shortages at the end of the Semester test the resources of the Technical Services Unit

On several days over the past few weeks up to half of the full-time staff of the Technical Services Unit have been or are on personal or other leave. Since this period at the end of Semester One is among the busiest of the year, there is an impact on the ability of the TSU to deliver services to the Division. Of particular concern is the TSU’s lack of resources to support teaching and assessments in media-oriented units in Creative Communication and Professional Communication.

One casual staff member has been contracted to help out, but it is not easy to find casual staff with the necessary skills and experience to be immediately productive without support. Traditionally casual staff are also students or sessional staff, but at this time of the semester they are often too busy to take on extra work with the TSU when we need the support.

Because of the cyclical nature of the demand for services, it might be prudent for the Division to consider developing an extended pool of potential casual staff and train them up to help out at times of peak demand: particularly the beginning and end of semesters and other teaching weeks. Whether the casual staff are recruited and managed by the TSU or the Schools requiring the support needs to be discussed.

With recent retirements there is also an opportunity for the Division to reassess the way its resources are managed, but there are also the challenges of managing changes in experiences and expectations as new people take over from those on whom the Division has relied for such a long time.

Conference support

Providing technical support for conferences is not a standard service offered by the Technical Services Unit.

For the information of the Division, the Technical Services Unit does not offer technical support for conferences, especially those held outside the Division, as a "core" service.

Venues outside the Division are usually serviced by arrangements through the venue managers and offered on a fee for services required basis. TSU is uncomfortable about being asked to circumvent these arrangements.

TSU staff may be available on at least a cost-recovery basis should their other work commitments allow, and they agree to participate. Should TSU agree to provide any support, a written agreement will be developed showing in detail what the TSU is to provide, and the responsibilities of the conference organisers. It will not co-ordinate any arrangements directly with conference delegates, but will only deal with one liaison person nominated by the conference organisers regarding any particular requirements. TSU will set up and take down equipment and ensure it is operational to an agreed level. It will not operate or provide assistance to delegates in using any equipment unless there is a fault.

Inquiries should be sent in the first instance to the cehelpdesk.

Accommodation

The Technical Services Unit IT staff have moved.

With the new appointments in the Technical Services Unit, more accommodation needed to be found to house them. More appropriate accommodation for existing staff was also required, so the growth in number has spurred us on to reorganise current arrangements.

The Help Desk team are in the process of moving to the new comedu helpdesk area. More TSU staff will move into the area as the ICT project winds down later this year, and as the space can be properly fitted out for their occupation.

Staff relations

We do what we can...

Always at the end of Semester the levels of tension within the University community rise: with limited resources, competing deadlines and overwhelming requests for support this can lead to frayed tempers and misunderstandings.

While the TSU staff do their best, often above and beyond reasonable expectations, some staff members in the Division feel they aren’t getting the attention they deserve and express their dissatisfaction directly with TSU staff, sometimes beyond the point of what would be considered appropriate workplace behaviour.

TSU staff have been instructed to bring any instance of such behaviour to the attention of the Manager, IT & Media Services. Any support work for the individual staff member concerned will be suspended pending an investigation of the incident. If it looks like the complaint is justified an official complaint may be lodged with the University about the incident.

Divisional staff who are dissatisfied with the Technical Services Unit should take their grievance up with the Manager, IT & Media Services, or the Deputy Head of the Division, not with TSU staff directly.

Workloads

The beginning of the semester is always a busy time for the Technical Services Unit, with the Division's staff realising what their requirements for the semester are, new staff starting, and the ever-increasing cohort of sessional staff commencing or returning to work.

Heads of School are asked to remind their staff of the need to inform the TSU of any new or changed requirements in good time so that appropriate arrangements can be made in time for the commencement of teaching: there is currently a delay of up to a week before some IT requests can be considered and in some cases can't be addressed for even longer. Last minute urgent requests for additional or changed computers are a particular concern: the Division does not have an unlimited supply of computers, there may be problems with network connections where more computers are proposed to be placed, and specialist software requests are sometimes difficult or impossible to respond to adequately without sufficient notice.

The comedu helpdesk's priorities are to make the computers, IT systems and media equipment of the Division work. Requests for help in using applications and installations should really be addressed (in the first instance at least) by reference to documentation or help files, searches online and colleagues. Staff who need training in application software should discuss their requirements with their supervisors, who should organise suitable training with outside providers if necessary. Academic staff with ICT needs should explore the Division's ICT Education initiative (http://www.ce.canberra.edu.au/ict/) to see if they can get help through the project.