According to this EdTech article, help desks in the higher education sector have one of the lowest response times out of 20 industries, a troubling statistic since help desk support is now crucial for keeping higher education operations running smoothly.
Without consistent, highly available network and systems access, students, faculty, and administrative personnel cannot function. With lack of resources cited as the biggest obstacle to higher ed operations, using technology to become more efficient is integral. Some methods that are working to improve help desk efficiency include the following:
Implement an Automated Ticketing System: Ticketing systems not only streamline issue reporting, but also provide statistics that can be used to identify patterns in issue reporting and resolution. Even free ticketing software can provide enough functionality to improve issue tracking and automate communication with the end user, leading to less frustration while reducing costs.
Use Ticketing Data Analytics to Scale Help Desk Resources: Use ticketing statistics to determine when to scale up staff for peak issue reporting hours and scale down for lower activity, while retaining an on on-call schedule for unsuspected outages.
Establish a Self-Help Portal: Statistics can also identify the systems, or the user groups associated with the most issues. Establishing self-help instructions for the most reported issues can then ease the volume of reported issues.
Install Virtual Assistants: Consider installing self-help virtual assistants to help support specific user populations. A state university implemented a question and answer assistant on their enrollment page for incoming freshman, and increased the enrollment turn-over rate by 22%.
As the online learning model continues to expand, having a high performing help desk can improve the student experience, and impact engagement and enrollment. Investing in help desk technology is crucial for future success.
