The 1995 campus-wide Task Force to Restructure Computing Across Penn strongly recommended that "primary support"--the first point of contact for a user in need--be located in the schools and units, close to the faculty, staff, and students being served.
In support of that principle, support providers have been gearing up over the last year to provide that support "at home." Now, ISC's Client Services Group, which is responsible for walk-in consulting at the Computing Resource Center (CRC), First Call telephone support services, and help@isc e-mail support services, will begin to take the lead in directing users to their primary support provider.
This means that many people contacting First Call or CRC in the coming weeks will find themselves being directed to a source closer to home:
Students living off-campus and in other on-campus residences may continue to use CRC and First Call for primary support for another year or more, until the "Support in Residence" program can bring them its benefits too. CRC will continue to serve the entire community as ISC's walk-in contact point for software distribution. In addition, any authorized user will be able to go to CRC (and to several other locations; see www.upenn.edu/computing/help/doc/passport/netid.html ) to initiate or alter a PennNet ID.
Questions? Contact your local provider. If you don't know who your local provider is, call First Call at 573-4778 and we can refer you to the proper source.
Penn's new model for computing was developed by the Task Force to Restructure Computing Across Penn. The restructuring project's web site at www.upenn.edu/computing/restruct/ includes a description of the model and has information about related pilot projects that have been underway during the past year, including the "Support in Residence" program.
-- Michael Kearney, Director, ISC Client Services Group
Almanac
Volume 43 Number 35
May 20, 1997
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