I was interested to see this report from Parature today:
Parature provides Web-based on-demand support software. The college had previously been limping along with a system designed in-house -- I sympathize; I've been there and done that, and it's not fun. So it sounds as if it's a dream to have a system that's actually designed with the user's needs in mind.
This is a critical need for more and more higher-education institutions, many of whom have online components to their courses and technology requirements across their campuses for students, faculty and staff alike. So when students and faculty run into trouble with computer issues, it's critical for IT staff to be responsive. A good method for tracking, monitoring, resolving, and documenting issues is essential (and often missing).
Parature's press release quotes Kathryn Barker, Online Education Services Educational Specialist at KCKCC in praising the new solution:
“I love Parature, because it is such an elegant and simple-to-use solution that addresses so many of our challenges. It is accessible to our students, and enables them to get assistance in variety of ways .... We needed a central solution that could track which support representative was resolving which student’s inquiries. What impressed me the most about Parature’s solution is how all the features are integrated into one centralized location. Another important functionality for us is the ability to view the support history of each of our students.”
Do I sense relief in her comments?
AB -- 5/10/05
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I would have to agree with you. I feel that having someone in house developing software is an asset, however, if I remember what they used to have for a support system, they should be happy that students can benefit from the Parature support ticket system.