In an effort to create a more unified and collaborative space, Taylor University’s Information Technology (IT) department officially moved to the basement of Nussbaum Science Center in May.
Previously, the department was split across multiple buildings, including the Nussbaum Science Center, Haakonsen and the Zondervan Library, which housed the Help Desk.
“We were across basically four different areas,” Chris Jones, vice president and chief information officer, said. “And it’s hard to really be united that way.”
When IT had to solve a problem, they needed to rely on email and phone calls to communicate, Jones said. This made it hard to solve problems quickly.
Jones said that when Taylor experienced a Wi-Fi outage in early September, the IT department was able to meet spontaneously to fix the situation instead of having to run all over campus.
David Compton is an overseer of the Help Desk.
“Instead of us panicking and calling somebody and having to go across campus to check with somebody else, we can just walk over and say, hey, is this a big issue, or is this a small issue? What about this?”
“[The new space is a] welcoming environment when people come in,” Jones said. “We asked the designers to make it feel like you almost step into an Apple store, and it kind of has that feel.”
Some of the staff added purple lighting around the Help Desk. Tables and chairs were added so staff can sit down with students to work through an issue.
Student employee Jonah Falder said most students visit the department for help with the multifactor authentication required to log into MyTaylor accounts. Unfortunately, many students don’t go to IT when they need help with their technology.
Jones and Compton stressed the importance of getting in touch with IT when there is a problem.
Jones said an access point (a device that lets you connect to Wi-Fi) went down in one of the residence halls last year. It was down for months, and students talked about it amongst themselves, but no one reported it to IT. IT had no idea, so they were unable to do anything about it.
Taylor University’s IT department has different ways to get in touch. Jones encouraged students to come to them with any technological problems they are having.
“We're always happy to help and make sure that people can do what they’re here to do, and, you know, learn in whatever area they’re trying to learn in,” Compton said.
Students can call the help desk at 765-998-4040, visit them online at helpdesk.taylor.edu, email helpdesk@taylor.edu or visit them in their new space in the basement of the Nussbaum Science Center.
