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The New Millennium Task Force on Academic Support was charged to study, identify, and evaluate current conditions in all areas of academic support in addition to personnel such as secretaries, grounds and maintenance, laboratory assistants, technicians, and all other auxiliary staff; and to examine their roles with the aim of clearly linking academic support to the university mission. Studies through interviews and surveys of the purpose and function of academic support areas such as the Career Development Center, Center for Integrating Technology into Education, Counseling Center, and Media Production and Services were conducted to determine how they contribute to the achievement of CSU's mission. The task force interviewed individual department chairs, program directors, students, faculty, and administrators; used results of the 1997 Noel-Levitz Satisfaction Survey administered to faculty, students, and staff; collected information published by support units; and compared CSU with four other universities in the region.
Student surveyed indicated that many secretaries, administrative assistants, and student aides do not have the necessary office and computer skills required to adequately serve the needs of their customers and the university. Students often reported "getting the run around" and very disrespectful treatment by front office personnel. The task force indicated that the Office of Human Resources had an effective continuous program of instruction in proper office demeanor and basic interpersonal skills until a lack of personnel caused its lapse.
Faculty indicated that instructional computing and technology needs are completely left out of planning and are unsatisfied. All groups report that their requests for service and/or equipment are not even returned and that no explanations are given for interruptions in service or lack of service. They further complained that this office simply does not have a service orientation. Personnel are not adequately trained to provide the services that they are supposed to perform or cannot communicate what problems exist or provide any explanation of their inabilities. Among faculty there is a widely held perception that Information Services is unaware of the current uses of instructional technology such as media distribution systems and electronic classrooms.
In the area of support personnel, the task force found that there is a great need for more graduate assistants to provide skilled support for academic programs. Faculty also felt that more of the university budget should be spent on the instructional program. Finally, this task force found that there is a pressing need for general and specialized office and instructional equipment in all areas. Only about 30% of faculty have computers on their desks, and many of these are not connected to the university network, so they do not have e-mail or Internet capability. Departments in the sciences also own many specialized instruments that require replacement periodically and on which service contracts must be maintained. Currently, these expenses are not budgeted and must be covered on an emergency basis.
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