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Student Technology Services (STS)Student Technology Services (STS) is the most common name chosen for the implementation of a work-based learning model developed and refined over the past 18 years by Joe Douglas, retired university Chief Information Officer and IT Division Head, and now STS Director for the eLearning Consulting Group. This model has been successfully replicated on over 75 university, technical college and liberal arts college campuses across the nation over the past decade through open sharing and collaboration between and among successful programs. The typical STS organization is composed entirely of students currently enrolled at the campus and employed part time by the IT division. STS employees are typically responsible for delivering technology and media related services to the entire campus community in a wide variety of functional areas.
Operating departments within an STS organization typically mirror those of the IT division and encompass both technical and administrative functions. The successful STS program is not merely staffed by students, it is entirely managed by students. Through a formal organization structure and a professional development program, students are empowered to be decision makers; manage an operating budget; supervise other students who deliver services; provide internal training; conduct performance evaluations; recruit new employees and assure high quality services. Individual STS organizations across the country typically employ anywhere from 10 to 300 students from virtually every academic major on campus. The model is equally as applicable to the small campus with limited resources as it is to large campuses with access to greater resources. Equal opportunity is extended to all students who apply regardless of academic major. As a result, most STS employees are from academic programs not normally associated with technology. Many universities employ exclusively technical majors under the belief that only technical expertise can satisfy their campus community technology needs. The STS model works to dispel that belief by treating academic major as a less significant factor throughout the hiring process and, instead, concentrates on interpersonal skills, ambition, drive, and willingness to learn. All student employees begin their tenure with an STS organization in entry level positions and work their way up to intermediate and advanced positions in the organization. Students are encouraged to change jobs each year, moving into other departments to learn and practice new skills. Students who excel at their work, complete the training requirements, and exhibit initiative are promoted to leadership positions. STS supervisors are responsible for the staff in their departments and serve as role models for their peers. They manage department budgets, schedule staff, assign and manage projects, as well as undertake normal day-to-day supervisory activities. STS supervisors of larger departments have assistant supervisors to help in managing these tasks. Full time IT staff members serve as mentors and are assigned to each STS department to guide and advise the STS supervisors. STS student empowerment motivates the students to seek out roles with greater responsibility and to be held accountable for their decisions. They learn to set goals for their departments and for themselves. In this way, they are developing skills necessary to further their future careers and build meaningful professional resumes. STS student empowerment is based on several key premises.
The STS model demonstrates that when students are properly trained and entrusted with authority and decision-making capability, they will exercise it responsibly. The continued success of the STS program in such a wide variety of campus settings indicates a significant positive impact on the development and preparation of the students involved. When given the opportunity, training and self confidence, students tend toward self improvement and self development; they will spur each other on in constructive competition and, when necessary, will rein each other in with self-policing reactions. The empowerment STS students acquire on the job is reinforced through a carefully tailored internal training curriculum. Successful completion of the various levels of the training matrix ensure that each student employee is competent in both technical and life skills. The technical component of the curriculum focuses on a wide variety of campus technology and troubleshooting; the life skills component focuses on customer service and professional development. When they reach graduation and assume positions in the outside workforce, empowered STS students already possess:
Over the past 18 years several generations of the empowered STS student workforce have already graduated and moved on to become successful professionals in their chosen fields. They fill the void created by the current lack of qualified Information Technology workers. The need for Information Technology workers remains high nationwide. The STS model contends that there are not enough graduates with technical degrees to fill the available jobs requiring technical proficiency. Employers that limit themselves to only the pool of graduates earning technical degrees will be less successful in attracting new employees from the marketplace. They will exclude themselves from the larger pool of graduates who are proficient in both technical as well as professional work skills. By building partnerships with business, STS programs can fill this gap with technically proficient and technology enabled summer cooperative placements and graduates. Among the benefits that businesses partnering with a successful STS program and investing in STS are:
A sampling of campuses that have instituted successful STS programs is included below; specific contacts at these campuses may be obtained from Joe Douglas:
To learn more about the STS model and how it might fit into your campus plans, please contact Joe Douglas, STS Director of the eLearning Consulting Group, at (208) 476-5751 or joe@blackdogtackle.com.com. Tailoring the STS model to your needs can be done. The wide community of successful campuses willing to share experiences and expertise provides the ongoing support you need to become successful. Contact us for additional assistance. |
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eLearning Consulting Group |
