ECAR Publishes Study on the IT Help Desk in Higher Education

Created by Colleen Luckett (EDUCAUSE) on December 3, 2007

EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) has published the new study, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education. This study explores the information technology (IT) help desk as a complex enterprise operating within a dynamic environment that includes the goals and culture of the central IT organization, the resources and services of the help desk, service level agreements between help desks and their clients, practices for evaluating and improving help desk services, and the perceived success of the help desk organization. Findings are related to the principles and practices of IT service management literature. This study is based on a literature review to identify issues and establish the research questions, consultation with selected higher education chief information officers, a quantitative survey of IT administrators at 454 colleges and universities in the EDUCAUSE database, qualitative interviews with 36 executives at 24 institutions, and four case studies about help desk and service management practices at a total of five higher education institutions.

The study is available to ECAR subscribers and through purchase, but the key findings and roadmap are publicly available. Visit ECAR on the Web.

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		ECAR Publishes Study on the IT Help Desk in Higher Education Created by Colleen Luckett (EDUCAUSE) on December 3, 2007 EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) has published the new study, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education. This study explores the information technology (IT) help desk as a complex enterprise operating within a dynamic environment that includes the goals and culture of the central IT organization, the resources and services of the help desk, service level agreements between help desks and their clients, practices for evaluating and improving help desk services, and the perceived success of the help desk organization. Findings are related to the principles and practices of IT service management literature. This study is based on a literature review to identify issues and establish the research questions, consultation with selected higher education chief information officers, a quantitative survey of IT administrators at 454 colleges and universities in the EDUCAUSE database, qualitative interviews with 36 executives at 24 institutions, and four case studies about help desk and service management practices at a total of five higher education institutions. The study is available to ECAR subscribers and through purchase, but the key findings and roadmap are publicly available. Visit ECAR on the Web. EDUCAUSE News \| Academic Research \| ECAR \| Help Desk \| help desk service \| help desk services \| help desks \| Higher Education \| management literature \| management practices \| qualitative interviews \| quantitative survey \| research questions \| service level agreements \| service management Colleen's blog Login or register to post comments 494 reads
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