September 1997
Graduate Students Offer Free Computing Services
It has happened to most of us, probably too often than we care to recall. We work tediously on the computer and say to ourselves, "There has to be a better way to do this." Faculty members with this nagging doubt or with any other computing problem, can utilize a free campus resource, the Computing Services Graduate Assistant Program.
Entering its third year, the program has hired about 12 graduate assistants annually who consult with faculty members on call and with projects such as mail merges and World Wide Web pages.
Bucking the stereotype of computing assistants who know how to fix a problem but lack the social skills to explain the problem or its solution, graduate assistants in Computing Services are selected not only for their technical abilities, but also for their people skills. "We have been extraordinarily lucky to attract people with good computer backgrounds, the ability to articulate, and the willingness to go the extra mile," said Wayne Hatmaker, program director. "We tell all the graduate students it's Computing Services with an accent on the 'Service,'" he said.
An initial idea behind the program was to provide each of the university's five colleges with a graduate assistant from that college, providing the college with an assistant who was not only knowledgeable about computers, but about the field of study as well. The applicant pool, however, was not representative of each college. Today, the graduate assistant may not be students in the colleges with which they work. Nevertheless, as the first line of technical support, the graduate assistants are close and can be reached quickly and easily.
Susan Barricelli is a graduate assistant pursuing an M.A. in elementary education. Her placement in her home college, Graduate College of Education (GCOE), is a win-win situation. "For me, it has worked out great. I get to learn about technology, but I also get to learn about education," she said.
Diane D'Arrigo, assistant dean of the GCOE, said Barricelli was "terrific" and "very accessible."
"She was housed in the College 20 hours a week and helped faculty and staff in a number of ways," D'Arrigo said. "For some of the faculty she made an enormous difference."
Both parties expressed enthusiasm for working together. "I want to stay in the Graduate College of Education. If I do that, I'd like to talk a few more people into getting web sites up," Barricelli said.
"Susan was housed in an area of the college that wasn't as central as I would have liked," D'Arrigo said. "I think more people could have access to her services if we would have housed her in a more central location. We plan to do that this year," she said. Barricelli, however, will spread her expertise to a wider segment of the campus this year. Computing Services expects to provide GCOE with a student who will live up to Barricelli's standards.
Graduate assistants often find themselves in the position of teacher as opposed to student. They provide private tutorials for some faculty. Often, when a faculty member is uncomfortable with teaching a technology, the graduate assistants will step in. "One of the things we have done and will continue to do is to go into the classroom and do any type of technology instruction," Hatmaker said. "They can either bring their class to us, or we can go to them."
UMass Boston is not the only university where student computing assistants experience a role reversal. "The one advantage I have to having the graduate students is that there are situations where I'm asked to provide coverage for classes because a faculty member isn't really comfortable in teaching a technology subject," said Barbara E. McMullen, director of academic computing at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
"The role of the student teaching the faculty has had very interesting cultural results here at Marist," McMullen said. Faculty take more chances with technology and develop trusting relationships with students, she said. UMass Boston has seen similar results.
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except for the months of June, July and August,
by the Office of External Relations.
Annemarie Lewis
Kerwin, Editor
Annette Fernie, Staff
Reporter and Production Director
Stacey Carter, Staff
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