Rapid changes in the IT field have placed a burden on educational institutions, which must decide how best to provide computing support for instruction and research. Institutions must determine the ideal balance of IT support with other educational needs in the academic community.Access to information technology is no longer a privilege held by a select few groups; instead, it has become a necessity in the academic environment. Since the late 1980's, computing support strategies at Indiana University have changed drastically to accommodate the changes in users' needs. In order to keep up with these changes, the University solicits input directly from users, allowing it to apply its scant and valuable computing support resources to where they are most needed. The annual IT survey conducted by the information technology organization has proven an invaluable tool in helping the University maintain one of the best academic computing support environments in the nation. Giving the end users an opportunity to provide input on what changes are needed in the University's IT environment has played a key role in the success of the support mechanisms. In addition, responses to the survey give an accurate picture of current needs and allow better projection of future needs of users. This allows the University to better serve its academic computing community without over-allocating resources that would be more useful elsewhere in the academic environment.
['John V. Samuel', 'Christopher S. Peebles', 'Takuya Noguchi', 'Craig A. Stewart']
Gauging IT support strategies: user needs then and now