Departmental Self Review - UCLA Academic Senate

(but not indefinite) period. This position is utilized wholly for training purposes to avoid havingthe student subverted into general user support duties. This approach would be ideal for the SONenvironment, where scheduling conflicts often preclude faculty participation in basic skillstraining. This training would be repeated annually or more frequently if necessary.Advanced training could be handled through a combination of campus CHR or UNEX classes.Faculty and staff would be sent out to these training classes on an as-needed one-on-one orsmall-group basis.Special training requires the most elaborate preparations, as instruction in these areas is eitherexpensive or unavailable. High-end training is not a particular problem, although specialscheduling and funding may be needed. Training in custom applications is more problematic, astraining seminars must be developed in-house, and an adequate training facility scheduled.Online training, available through the campus, can also play an important role, both as a standaloneresource and as supplement or review material, but at this point is not an adequatereplacement for more conventional modes of instruction.Organizational Benefits:Improved training offers the most effective way to increase productivity throughout the entireschool, in many different areas.Resource Requirements:Significant funding for student trainers is needed. At approximately $15/hour, with a base traineegroup of 50 and a 2-hour training session, the cost of a student trainer average out at about $1500per training cycle. Current funds reserved for conventional training should be retained andenhanced to provide advanced and special training within current school training modes.Evaluation Methodology:Effectiveness of training can be measured by analyzing data provided by the Help Deskrecommended in Initiative Three. A decrease in user calls related to insufficient user knowledgewill indicate training efficacy.Timeline: Next 5 Years.Initiative Five: Evaluation and Deployment of New Technologies.Many new systems are proposed each year as a means of enhancing instruction, improvingresearch, or rendering administrative processes more efficient. The means by which thesesystems are evaluated for possible use needs to be as broad as possible, as the resources neededto deploy a system in one area may result in the degradation or elimination of service in another.285