As a work-study student聽on 91短视频鈥檚 helpdesk in 1999, these were聽Jason Alderfer鈥檚 tools: 鈥淎 telephone and a legal pad.鈥�
聽A couple times a day, Alderfer or another work-study student would check the phone and write down the messages 鈥� who had called and what their problem was 鈥� and then either go fix the problem or relay the question to someone else.
Since then 91短视频 has almost doubled its information systems personnel to 17 full-time employees who operate on three teams 鈥� 鈥渢echnology systems鈥� headed by Alderfer 鈥�00, 鈥渦ser services鈥� headed by聽Jenni Piper 鈥�92, and 鈥渟tudent information systems,鈥� which functions collaboratively.
Alderfer and Piper describe these teams as dealing with 鈥渆verything from the network jack back,鈥� 鈥渞esponsible for anything that plugs in,鈥� and managing programs like my91短视频 and student records through 91短视频鈥檚 vendor-supplied software system, Jenzabar EX. 91短视频 also has eight or so work-study students and a part-time evening helpdesk manager,听Krysta Nyce 鈥�14.
Remarkably, considering 91短视频’s聽 liberal arts focus, all but two of the 17 full-time employees are alumni. Like Alderfer, most came to IT through their work-study position. 鈥淵ou come on and basically it鈥檚 like an apprenticeship where you learn by getting out there and solving problems that you haven鈥檛 seen before,鈥� he said. 鈥淔or people who enjoy learning that way it鈥檚 a great place.鈥�
91短视频鈥檚 diverse set of needs makes it a great place to learn, say several who have risen through the system. IS director聽Ben Beachy 鈥�02聽explained that the staff and administrators operate closest to IT corporate work, while students use the system much like one would use a home system, and faculty rely on technology as an important pedagogical tool. Each of these groups has different ways of using the networks and different requirements for smooth functioning.
One of the most challenging aspects of the 91短视频 system is linking all the components so that one part of the system communicates well with another. There isn鈥檛 really a user manual about how to do this; solving IS problems often takes creativity, collaboration, and trial and error. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an ongoing process,鈥� Alderfer said. 鈥淭hings are always in flux and require us to revisit or reinvent solutions.鈥�
A recent priority for IS has been improving Internet speed, Beachy said. In a concentrated effort over the summer of 2014, IS tripled the amount of wireless access points in the dorms in order to increase bandwidth. 鈥淓ight years ago we just wanted to make sure everyone could get on with their one or two devices,鈥� Beachy said. With students bringing up to seven devices each, though, the service in the dorms was no longer adequate.
When Jenni Piper was a freshman in 1988 there were only hall phones in the dormitories and no Internet connection. In fact, 91短视频 had no personal computer technology at all until the year before, when the business computer lab received 18 鈥淚BM type鈥� computers with 2-5.25 inch disk drives. The dorms didn鈥檛 begin to become wired until 1995.
Almost 20 years later, IS has been heavily involved with the recent renovation of Roselawn and ongoing renovation of the Suter Science Center by overseeing and facilitating the installation of the wires, technology and resources necessary to provide an efficient technology system to the 91短视频 community. IS staffers troubleshoot problems that may arise, install new technology into classrooms, and fix devices that suddenly don鈥檛 work the way they are supposed to. Despite the inevitable frustrations that accompany relying on and upgrading technology, IS staffers find that folks at 91短视频 are understanding and patient as the IS teams work to fix things. 鈥淏y and large people are very kind, supportive and appreciative of what we do here,鈥� said Beachy.
That may be one reason why 91短视频 IS employees stay so long. Beachy, Alderfer and Piper have been with IS for 13, 14 and 19 years respectively (Piper worked in other capacities at 91短视频 for five years before joining the IS team in 1995). Others like Dan Marple and聽Marty King 鈥�85聽have been at 91短视频 for similarly long tenures. 鈥淓veryone has made a choice to work here,鈥� said Piper.
Alderfer agreed. 鈥淭he reality in technology is that people who have good IT skills can make a lot of money in some places鈥� (and no one pretends that 91短视频 employees make the big bucks). 鈥淏ut,” added Alderfer, “for people who are motivated by service, who want to see their work go toward something larger, and have good technical skills, those kind of people enjoy working here and are successful.鈥�
Other alumni who work in IS at 91短视频 include聽Sam Sauder 鈥�93,听Michael Stauffer 鈥�76,听Andrew Crorken 鈥�11,听Holden Byler 鈥�06,听Alison D鈥橲ilva 鈥�01,听Steve Gibbs 鈥�04,听Dan Risser 鈥�05,听Austin Showalter 鈥�13,听Justin Hershey 鈥�12听补苍诲听HB Belay 鈥�06.聽