Support Services and Case Studies

This ECAR case study complements the 2007 ECAR study by Mark C. Sheehan, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education, which examines the state of higher education help desk organizations, services, tools, resources, and management practices and how these and assorted other measures are related to desirable help desk outcomes. ECAR undertook this case study of New York University to demonstrate how the framework of IT service management practices and functions known as the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) can strengthen service management practices in a complex higher education institution.

Citation for this work: Pirani, Judith A., Mark C. Sheehan, and Bob Albrecht. “ITIL at New York University: A Framework for Excellence” (Case Study 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This case study complements the 2007 ECAR study by Mark C. Sheehan, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education, which examines the state of higher education help desk organizations, services, tools, resources, and management practices and how these and assorted other measures are related to desirable help desk outcomes. ECAR undertook this case study of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to demonstrate how the central IT help desk can become an integrating support organization in the context of a large, decentralized university.

Citation for this work: Spicer, Donald Z., and Judith A. Pirani. "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Integrating IT Support Institution-Wide" (Case Study 9). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2007, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This case study complements the 2007 ECAR study by Mark C. Sheehan, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education, which examines the state of higher education help desk organizations, services, tools, resources, and management practices and how these and assorted other measures are related to desirable help desk outcomes. ECAR undertook this case study of the University of Alberta to examine how its IT help desk uses online tools, and how the use of those tools impact the overall IT organization operations.

Citation for this work: Pirani, Judith A., and Donald Z. Spicer. "University of Alberta: Using Online Help Desk Tools to Enhance Client Service and Department Operations" (Case Study 8). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2007, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This case study complements the 2007 ECAR study by Mark C. Sheehan, Service on the Front Line: The IT Help Desk in Higher Education, which examines the state of higher education help desk organizations, services, tools, resources, and management practices and how these and assorted other measures are related to desirable help desk outcomes. ECAR undertook this case study of Bowdoin College and Colgate University to demonstrate how the help desk can be used strategically as a revitalization tool and to assess its subsequent impact upon the IT organization and the institution at large.

Citation for this work: Albrecht, Bob, and Judith A. Pirani. "Bowdoin College and Colgate University: Using the Help Desk Strategically to Revitalize an IT Organization" (Case Study 7). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This case study investigates the genesis, nature, and outcomes of Purdue University's notable transformation in how research activities interact with institutional information technology. Of particular interest is how the relationship between research and IT is reflected in organization, infrastructure, and services.

This case study explores how the University of Virginia has managed to integrate the expertise of scholars, librarians, and technologists to achieve leadership in the digital humanities. It highlights qualities not usually associated with academic historians and linguists: entrepreneurship, risk, collaboration, and organizational agility.