Information Services

Collective Readiness in Information Services

An improved framework to help monitor and manage IT and Library services delivered to students in September and January is currently in progress to be implemented ready for September 2024 Welcome Week.

The start of the new semesters (September and January) are always a busy time for students, staff, and IT and Library Services. Especially with increasing numbers of students, it is important for the University to provide positive experiences and professional support, particularly for new joiners.

Welcome week in the library

To help monitor IT services and preparations for the start of the semester, a continuously-improving five-year old framework is in place, warning Professional Services and ISG (Information Services Group) of any possible problems with enough time to respond to work efficiently. Each year it is built upon and enhanced, introducing new and removing old ideas where necessary to be as useful as possible. Any resource gaps will be highlighted, enabling ISG to respond where needed. This framework is divided into two main paths:

  • IT and Library Readiness: focusing on University services and projects that will impact the start of the semester
  • Welcome Week: focusing on the University Welcome Week services (including WIFI access and Card distribution)

The advantage of using the framework is that we can start off next year from where we finished the previous year...At the end of every Welcome Week we are always thinking about how we are going to top what we have done, and each year the framework allows us to do that.

Tim GrayProject Manager

This framework will ensure that students are provided with the services needed to start the new semester, minimising the risk of possible widespread IT issues. Changes in a wide range of areas, from card production and distribution to the IT and Library Services readiness tracker, will ensure that the IT and Library Services know which cards have and have not been distributed. Efficiency, above all, will be improved.

Both students and Professional Services staff will experience improvements to the services and support most needed at the start of the semester, building on what was learned last academic year for the future.