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Computer Training Policy

Purpose

To provide technical computer training to university employees (staff, faculty, administrators, and students) in support of the execution of the duties and responsibilities of their jobs.

Scope

This policy applies to all University staff, faculty, administrators, officers and students (collectively, "users"), including those on the regional campuses and Extended Learning sites.

Policy

Scheduled Training Workshops

The Support Services unit of Information Technology prepares and posts a training schedule three times a year. The schedule will include the workshops offered, dates and times, requirements for admission, and procedures for enrolling in the workshops. University employees may register for this training by following the enrollment process outlined in this document.

The topics to be included on the schedule will be controlled by a variety of factors including, but not limited to:

  • Input from the instructors based upon their day to day experiences in working with university employees.
  • Input from class attendees who indicate training needs on their evaluation or survey forms.
  • Input from the various university administrators who express training needs as a part of planning meetings or documents.
  • Input from university faculty and staff requesting special training (see details below).
  • Input from the OIT Help Desk staff and information culled from help desk tickets.
  • Availability of qualified instructors to teach the workshops.
  • Availability of classrooms with the specific equipment (i.e. hardware and software) required to teach the workshops.

Departmental Special Requests for Training

University departments and faculty members may also request special training workshops or seminars to satisfy their operational needs, if the OIT training staff has expertise in the requested training subject area. The request is to be made in writing or via e-mail at least three weeks in advance and forwarded to the Manager of Training and Publication Services, OIT Support Services. These requests should include the following information:

  • Requestor Information: Department, name, title, telephone number, and campus address of the contact person assigned to coordinate the training.
  • Training Needs:
    • Specific training needed (specify software and version)
    • Purpose of individual training
    • Is this training offered in the Training Schedule? If so, why is an individual session needed?
    • The number of employees or students that will be attending this training.
    • Do these employees or students meet all prerequisites? If not, what deficiencies need to be addressed?
    • Where will the training be conducted (departmental site or an OIT facility)?
    • When is the training needed (date)?

Departments will be contacted to discuss when and if the request can be met, where the individual training will be offered, and to finalize any details if the request will be granted.

Workshop Schedule Publication

The OIT Training Workshop schedule will be published on the Support Services web site on the first Friday of April, the first Friday of August and the first Friday of December. It will be kept up-to-date by staff members in Training and Publication Services, OIT Support Services. The workshop schedule will be submitted to WVU Training and Development (T&D) before their submission deadlines to appear in their printed catalog if they choose to publish one. The T&D web site will maintain a link to the Support Services web site’s online schedule.

Workshop Cancellation

Occasionally, an OIT Training Workshop must be cancelled. Possible reasons include:

  • Insufficient pre-registration: most workshops require five or more registrants.
  • Inclement weather: if WVU closes due to weather, any scheduled workshops will not be held. They may be rescheduled for a later date.
  • Training facility: if the scheduled training lab becomes unusable for some reason and an equivalent facility cannot be scheduled for that time slot, the workshop may be cancelled or rescheduled for a later date.
  • Staff: If OIT loses the only qualified instructor for a particular workshop topic, those workshops will be cancelled. Once another qualified instructor is available, new workshops on that topic will be scheduled in the next workshop schedule.

Notification: every effort will be made to contact workshop registrants of workshop cancellation prior to the start time of a workshop, with the exception of the University closing for the entire day.

Enrollment Process

  • Make sure you review workshop prerequisites before registering.
  • To register for scheduled workshops:
  • Required information: your name, WVU department, phone number, e-mail address, workshop names, dates, times.
  • You should receive an e-mail confirmation within two working days for e-mail and web form registrations.
  • Please record workshop information on your personal calendar. Reminders are usually e-mailed the week before the scheduled session but sometimes unexpected events preclude this reminder service. You are still responsible for attending even if you do not receive a reminder.

Expectations for Training Attendees

Since training classes are limited and full enrollment is expected, employees and students are expected to adhere to the following rules:

  • No shows: Do not register unless you plan to attend - registration may be denied to those who habitually sign up for sessions and do not attend.
  • Cancellations: If you cannot attend a session that you have registered for, call 293-4444 or send email to workshop@mail.wvu.edu at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled workshop to cancel your reservation.
  • Reservations: Make your reservations early to ensure confirmed registration. To reserve a seat, refer to the Enrollment Process outlined above.
  • Waitlist: If the workshop is full, you can be added to a waitlist. If someone cancels, you will be notified.
  • Prerequisites: Ensure you meet any and all prerequisites. Although some courses precede all other courses in a subject area, you are not absolutely required to have taken that course to take a higher level course. In other words, you may already have mastered the prerequisite skills by some other means. However it is critical that you have mastered these prerequisite skills before attending a course. If you attend a course and are not prepared, the instructor might not be able to cover all of the workshop objectives or you will be unable to keep up with the class. Please read the prerequisites carefully as you consider registering for a workshop.
  • Parking: Any parking expenses are your responsibility.
  • Tardiness: Arrive on time for the workshop; late arrivals are not guaranteed a seat in the session.
  • Training Lab Rules:
    • Food, drink, and tobacco products are not allowed in the training classrooms.
    • Please set your cell phone or pager to vibrate or turn it off. Use your cell phone outside of the classroom.
  • Participation: Follow the curriculum and course outline - please do not access other programs or files on the classroom computer system.
  • Evaluation: Upon completion of the training program, please complete any evaluation or survey forms handed out by the instructor so the information can be used to improve the overall training program.

Reserving an OIT Support Services Electronic Classroom

The WVU Office of Information Technology Support Services offers four computer equipped classrooms that can be reserved by WVU faculty and staff for short term training activities. The facilities are intended to support courses without computers in the regular classroom and to provide information technology training to WVU students, faculty, and staff.

To reserve an electronic classroom, please adhere to the following.

  • Your department will assume financial responsibility for damage or theft related to your group’s use of the classroom.
  • Classrooms should never be left unattended.
  • Access to the classrooms is managed by the lab staff. Please arrive early to allow enough time to open doors and start the projector.
  • Students cannot reserve or supervise a classroom.
  • Reservations that require modification of the standard lab image should be made 30 days in advance.
  • If you require software installed, you must provide a written license that indicates the number of workstations and installation media. OIT Support Services will use your software with the understanding that the licenses you provide are available for our exclusive use during the development period and your reservation period. These items should be delivered to the Assistant Director of Academic Information Services, OIT Support Services, no less than 30 days before the event.
  • Reservations are made on a first come, first served basis.
  • Determine when you need a classroom, complete the online request form and wait for a confirmation reply. Online electronic classroom reservation request form: http://labs.wvu.edu/classrooms/calendar
  • Reservations made and then broken or missed may prevent you from being allowed to make future appointments.
  • You must clean up after your group. Throw away trash and return the chairs under the desks.
  • Turn off the lights and lock the door behind you when you leave.

Reference Materials

OIT Support Services maintains a collection of workshop handouts and previously published newsletter articles for review by university employees. To use this service, go to: oit.wvu.edu/support/training/.

Questions or Problems

Questions, concerns or additional information about this and any OIT policy should be directed to the CIO office at OIT_Admin@mail.wvu.edu.

Responsibility

The Associate Provost for Information Technology (CIO) is the policy administrator for information technology resources and will ensure this process is followed. Additionally, Deans, Directors and Department Heads are responsible for compliance with University policy within their respective administrative areas.

Policy Last Updated: June 9, 2003

 

Updated November 13, 2007