ITS Policies

Service Level Agreement

Departmental computing labs

October 9, 2003

A departmental computing lab is a space in which the University places networked computers to support the instructional mission of a specific academic department(s)*. The affiliated department takes responsibility for the operation of the lab while Computing Services provides technical and instructional support to make the lab as available and effective as possible while maintaining the integrity of the campus network. This document outlines these responsibilities shared by the academic departments

*Computers at which student employees work for a department are not a departmental computing lab. Computers integrated into research instruments are not supported by Computing Services and do not constitute a departmental computing lab. This document does not apply to public computing labs that are not affiliated with an academic department.

To qualify as a supported departmental computing lab, the facility must have been planned and implemented in close consultation with Computing Services. Ad hoc facilities and those funded by faculty start-up funds can be qualified as supported labs only after having been approved by the Information Resources Advisory Committee. Computing labs initially funded from external (non-Denison) sources may qualify for Computing Services support and equipment replacement (at university expense) if: 1) the lab becomes an integral part of the department's curricular offering, and 2) a Service Level Agreement for the lab is recommended by Computing Services and approved by the Information Resources Advisory Committee at least two calendar years before the equipment in the lab is to be replaced.

The staff of Computing Services will:

Consult with departments in the preparation of proposals for new departmental computing labs which are forwarded to the Information Resources Advisory Committee once each year for approval.
Provide basic technical training for students if they are hired by the departments to support their labs.
Provide no less than one week’s notice to the department liaison or managing committee for any non-transparent changes to the lab (except for security and virus patches which may have to be applied immediately).
Consult with managing committees or faculty liaisons to design and validate all software images for departmental computer labs as well as any changes in hardware or software. Computing Services staff cannot work with improperly licensed software or allow unauthenticated access to the Internet.
Provide network and hardware troubleshooting and repair services with a response (not necessarily a solution) within one business day of the problem report to the Help Desk. The University cannot maintain spares or replacements for all systems, so we acknowledge that some repairs may take considerable time to complete.
Provide software support services with a response (not necessarily a solution) within one business day of the problem report to the Help Desk. There are four levels of support, depending on the software:
- Computing Services will fully support (buy, install, train and service) campus-wide licensed applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Internet Explorer, Netscape (not a complete list).
- Computing Services will provide limited support (installation and testing only on standard operating systems) for specialized, academic applications.
- Computing Services will provide no support for improperly licensed software, or applications such as WordPerfect, Microsoft Works, screen savers, non-instructional games or audio (not a complete list).
- Instructional technologists will provide “best effort” support for curricular applications that are not on the Computing Services “fully supported” list.
Post appropriate signs regarding “out of service” and “out-for-repair” systems.
Implement changes to departmental computing labs during the summer (such as software updates). Under special circumstances, changes may be made during the semester break (December-January). Computing Services may apply security and virus patches at any time, providing as much advance notification as practical.
Conduct an annual equipment inventory during the summer.
Fund and manage the process of replacing obsolete computers (currently on a four year replacement cycle).

The academic department(s) will: Consult with Computing Services (specifically, the instructional technologist assigned to the department) in the preparation of proposals for new departmental computing labs which are forwarded to the Information Resources Advisory Committee once each year for approval. Proposals should focus on the pedagogical justification for the facility and include a list of courses and number of students that will depend on the facility.

Authorize a member of the department faculty to act as liaison for single-department labs or in the case of labs that are used by multiple departments, organize a representative “managing committee.”

Be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the departmental computer lab, including:

Managing access to the lab, including scheduling when not done by the registrar.
Hiring, paying and scheduling student workers, if any.
Maintaining supply items required in the lab, including printer paper, removable media, etc.
Ensuring that hardware and software are not removed or reconfigured.
Securing the lab space as appropriate and encouraging practices to protect the equipment from damage, theft and misuse.
Helping to ensure that users of the facility know they are exclusively responsible for backing up their own data.
Conducting basic troubleshooting prior to calling the Help Desk (reboot computers, connect power and data cables, replace batteries, etc).
Thoroughly testing all uses of technology prior to an important event.
Promptly reporting all support calls to the Computing Services Help Desk.
Communicate hardware and software needs through their managing committee or faculty liaison, including desired changes or software updates, to Computing Services with ample lead time to allow research and implementation.