In February of this year, many of you received invitations to participate in a survey about Clark’s Information Technology Services. Over 1000 Clarkies participated by answering questions about classroom technology, networking, support, and much more. And we want to say a big thank you! Your feedback will help us evaluate our services, set future prioritizations, and better meet your needs.

What’s next?

We received the results last week and are excited to begin delving into the feedback. With 1100 responses, and over 150 criteria each, it will take us some time to analyze but we will evaluate the responses against our previous results in 2022 and comparative data from other institution’s surveys.

Once we’ve analyzed the data, ITS will identify specific action items that address the needs raised by the campus and share those initiatives with you in Fall 2024.

If you were not selected to take the survey this year, but have thoughts that you’d like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to email Joanne Dolan at jodolan@clarku.edu.

Popular Questions

We did noticed that many of you asked direct questions on the survey that we can already answer. Because the survey is confidential, we can’t respond directly, but have compiled some of the most common questions and answers. If your question isn’t answered below, look for updates in the Fall or email jodolan@clarku.edu so that we can help you directly.

• I didn’t know that most of this was available? How can I browse what services ITS offers?
• I’d like better communication when services go down
• I wish there was more training because I want to know how to use OneDrive, Teams better
• I wish there was a Chatbot, or Live Chat option for the Help Desk
• I’d prefer to talk to ITS by phone and I wish the ITS contact information was on the website
• ClarkYou should be more modern and easy to navigate
• More color student printers and student printers in ASEC and in Lasry
• There should be lollipops at the Help Desk
• [Faculty/Staff] My computer is getting older, and it’s slow. I wish I could get it replaced
• [Faculty/Staff] We want Macs!
• [Faculty/Staff] My Clark Mac device keeps disconnecting from my departmental printers
• [Faculty] Get rid of blackboards in classrooms
• [Faculty/Staff] Can ITS come to talk to my department about what’s available and how we can work together?

“I didn’t know that most of this was available? How can I browse what services ITS offers?”

While ITS is always working to improve our communication and promotion of different services, many Clarkies find that our A-Z guide is a good place to browse what is available from ITS.

“I’d like better communication when services go down”

Great timing for this question! Since we sent out this survey, ITS has launched ITStatus.clarku.edu which is a status page showing ongoing outages and upcoming maintenance. You can access it at the link above or at the bottom of every ITS webpage.

“I wish there was more training because I want to know how to use OneDrive, Teams better”

Tess Walsh is our wonderful Tech Trainer and runs regular online and in-person training sessions for faculty and staff on Microsoft products, Adobe, and much more. Tess is also available to do custom training for small groups and departments to address their specific needs, and work with faculty to build focused student training to meet academic needs. Check out our Tech Training page for more information or to contact Tess.

Additionally, we do know that many students, faculty and staff can’t necessarily attend live training sessions, so remember that Clark provides access to LinkedIn Learning for all active Clarkies. Learn how to use Adobe, how to do a good presentation, how to give feedback and so much more. Click here for more information on LinkedIn Learning.

“I wish there was a Chatbot, or Live Chat option for the Help Desk”

ITS does provide a chatbot on every page of the ITS website. Look for the robot icon in the bottom right of the page. Asking questions there will get you quick and easy answers to your questions, help you find the best link for support, connect you to a live agent (if available) or open a Help Desk ticket.

“I’d prefer to talk to ITS by phone and I wish the ITS contact information was on the website”

ITS is available in person at the Help Desk in the Academic Commons, by phone at 508-793-7745, by email at helpdesk@clarku.edu or via the Chatbot available on every ITS webpage. If you forget any of these details, look to the bottom of every ITS webpage for contact information and our current opening hours.

“ClarkYou should be more modern and easy to navigate”

ITS has been working on this project for many months and is excited to announce a soft-launch of ClarkYouBeta¸a more modern version of ClarkYou for you to try, and give feedback on. You can access this from the ClarkYou login page, from the ClarkYou menu, or by clicking here. Visit this article for more information on this change.

We’re also working to replace the OneCard Balance widget that many of you have missed.

“More color student printers and student printers in ASEC and in Lasry”

ITS will be performing a full evaluation of the location of student print stations and the usage needs, particularly of color printers this summer. We expect to be able to share a new map of printers in the Fall.

“There should be lollipops at the Help Desk”

Done! Come by to grab one.

[Faculty/Staff] “My computer is getting older, and it’s slow. I wish I could get it replaced”

While we did experience delays that impacted our established replacement schedule after COVID, ITS has been making considerable strides to catch up and replace all older personal devices across campus. We’ve been reaching out to many faculty and staff that are over-due for replacements, and if a Clarkie is having problems with an older device, we’re more like to replace it rather than fixing. Most standard replacements are happening within 1-2 weeks and it is a quick and easy process.

If your device is slow, impacting your work, or may be due for replacement, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Help Desk.

[Faculty/Staff] “We want Macs!”

ITS has heard you! Over the last 18 months, ITS has begun to offer Mac laptops and desktops to staff and faculty at much higher rates than previously. Additionally, we’ve rolled out software that allows Mac devices to be updated to newer Operating Systems much more quickly. We’ve also added Mac laptops to our loaner pool and are continually increasing our ability to support Mac users. While this is a long-term project, we’re excited to offer Clarkies more choice in their devices.

[Faculty/Staff] “My Clark Mac device keeps disconnecting from my departmental printer”

ITS is aware of the ongoing issue with Mac printing for staff and faculty, and in the last month have made changes that make the connection more stable. If you’re still experiencing issues, please contact the Help Desk for support as we do have other solutions that we can put in place. We are also continuing to work on more permanent solutions to support reliable Mac printing.

[Faculty] “Get rid of blackboards in classrooms”

While blackboards aren’t strictly IT resources, ITS works closely with our Facilities department, the Faculty Classroom Committee, and the Academic Technology Committee to evaluate what equipment should be placed in classrooms. There are members of our campus community that prefer using blackboards and whiteboards over smartboards, and so we balance those pedagogical needs against the changing technology demands of other faculty and students. Both of these committees and ITS are always eager to hear feedback on what is needed for quality teaching and learning.

[Faculty/Staff] “Can ITS come to talk to my department about what’s available and how we can work together?”

ITS is happy to do this! ITS team members are happy to talk to departments, centers, and groups across campus about how to meet your needs. Contact Joanne Dolan, jodolan@clarku.edu, to set up a discussion.