Guidelines for PC Support

The department currently hires undergraduate and graduate support staff to help maintain its computer facilities. At the present time (2001-2002) there are two members on the support staff.

  • Unsupported tasks

    The job of the PC support staff does NOT typically include

    1. The physical repair of machines, except for some simple repairs.
    2. Ordering or obtaining software or machines. Some exceptions may be made for a few standard items, such as network cards or departmentally licensed anti-virus software. An implication is that department members should have copies of software programs and manuals on-hand when requesting support.
    3. Maintaining anyone's home computer, including laptops that are not primary office machines.
    4. Particularly difficult or non-standard tasks. For example, it is very difficult to provide network connections and/or software upgrades on some older machines; even when such tasks are possible to complete, the time involved is often prohibitive.
    5. Informing faculty or staff that their request cannot be handled because of other priorities as listed above. This is typically the job of the computer committee.

  • Prohibited Tasks

    The job of the PC support staff NEVER includes