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Course Planning by Program

2023-24

Essential Objectives

Course Syllabus


Revision Date: 27-Dec-23
 

Spring 2024 | CIS-2360-VO01 - Computer User Support


Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Location: Online
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Meets online
Semester Dates: 01-23-2024 to 05-06-2024
Last day to drop without a grade: 02-11-2024 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 03-24-2024 - Refund Policy
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration

Faculty

Marsha Kuhn
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Deb Grant

General Education Requirements


This section meets the following CCV General Education Requirement(s) for the current catalog year:
VSCS Digital and Technical Literacy
CCV Communication
    Note
  1. Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.
  2. Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course provides students with computer user support skills. Students learn the fundamental concepts of service desk communication techniques and customer service, and focus on the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to prepare for entry-level positions in computer user support. Students work with real world computer support examples, case studies, and activities. This course covers concepts found on the CompTIA A+ certification exam. Prerequisite: Desktop Operating Systems.


Essential Objectives

1. Describe the historical context of end-user computing, how end users increase their productivity using computer systems, the resources they need, and common problems they encounter.
2. Identify and understand why end users need help, the kinds of help support centers provide, and how organizations have found ways to provide support.
3. Describe the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for success in a computer user support position including the qualities and skills to be an effective team member or leader.
4. Demonstrate communication and customer service skills user support staff need, outline ways to develop a call management strategy, and role play some difficult support situations.
5. Discuss common tools and methods troubleshooters use to solve computer problems and describe practical problem-solving strategies that a user support specialist can apply to any troubleshooting situation.
6. Discuss a multi-level support model, the incident management process, and be familiar with the features of service desk ticketing systems.
7. Describe management perspectives for the mission of support groups, how to staff and train them, how to manage a large project, industry certifications, professional associations, and standards of ethical conduct including maintaining confidentiality.
8. Discuss strategies to evaluate computer products and define product standards in an organization.
9. Describe tools to help user support staff analyze and assess user needs for computer hardware, software, and network products.
10. Demonstrate the ability to design and set up an ergonomic workstation.
11. Demonstrate how to plan training activities, how to prepare training materials, and how to present, evaluate, and improve training for end users.
12. Present different types of documentation a support specialist might have to prepare, and explain how to plan, write, and evaluate end-user documents that consider accessibility, diversity, inclusion, and equity.
13. Describe facilities management tasks user support staff are likely to encounter, including security, media backups, preventive maintenance, and ergonomic issues.
14. Develop a training, management, and evaluation system for a technical support group, and prepare a formal presentation that demonstrates proficiency using the CCV Oral Communication Rubric.


Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.


Required Textbooks and Resources

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations.

Spring 2024 textbook details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

CIS-2360-VO01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.


Methods

  • Large group discussions including questions and answers
  • Hands-on projects and/or activities
  • Presentations and website resources
  • Readings, writing, and inquiry-based research
  • Experiential activities

Evaluation Criteria

The grading criteria are as follows:
Participation in discussion forums - 30% (Please read below on how I grade the discussion group participation.)
Weekly Assignments and Quizzes- 35%
FinalExam - 15%
Final Project - 20%
All assignments/exams/projects are graded on a scale of 0-100%. Final grades are based as follows:

98-100 = A+
94-97= A
90-93 = A-
87-89 = B+
84-86 = B
80-83 = B-
77-79 = C+
74-76 = C
70-73 = C-
67-69 = D+
64-66 = D
60-63 = D-
Below 60 = F

Grading for Pass/Fail will be as follows:

60-100 = P
Below 60 = F

In order for a student to receive a grade of Pass/No Pass or Audit, you must request this type of grade by the 3rd week of class.

NOTE: All assignments must be posted by the due date or there will be a penalty of 10 points for each day late. Assignments submitted more than 1 day late will receive a grade of -0-. I understand that from time to time there may be extenuating circumstances where you need extra time to submit an assignment. Extensions will be decided on a case-by-case basis and must be requested via e-mail to me at marsha.kuhn@ccv.edu before the assignment is due.

Grading Discussion Forums

Your weekly Discussion Board grades are based on the following criteria:

Category

Exemplary – 10 pts.

Proficient – 8 pts.

Partially Proficient – 5 pts.

Unsatisfactory – 0 pts.

Two responses to discussion

question

Responses are thorough, thoughtful, and show insight.

Responses are mostly complete, thoughtful, and show some insight.

Responses are partially complete, thoughtful, and show limited insight OR there is only one response.

Responses do not answer the discussion question or weren’t answered.

Participation

Student responds to at least two other students with thoughtful and meaningful feedback.

Student responds to at least one other student with thoughtful and meaningful feedback.

Student responds to at least two other students, but the feedback is not thoughtful and meaningful.

Student doesn’t respond to any other students or responds to one other student, but the feedback is not thoughtful and meaningful.

Timeliness

First message is posted by end of day Friday. (Reserving a question doesn't count as a post.)

First message is posted by end of day Saturday.

First message is posted by end of day Sunday.

First message is Monday or later.

Writing

mechanics

The text is written with minimal errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.

The text is clearly written with some errors in grammar, capitalization punctuation, and spelling.

Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar errors distract or impair readability.

Errors in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar repeatedly distract the reader and major editing and revision are required.


Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

 HighLow
A+10098
A Less than 9893
A-Less than 9390
B+Less than 9088
B Less than 8883
B-Less than 8380
C+Less than 8078
C Less than 7873
C-Less than 7370
D+Less than 7068
D Less than 6863
D-Less than 6360
FLess than 60 
P10060
NPLess than 600


Weekly Schedule


Week/ModuleTopic  Readings  Assignments
 

1

Achieving High Customer Satisfaction

  • Delivering high-quality technical customer support
  • Trends Influencing the Service Desk
  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQoOqQiVzwQ

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

http://typelogic.com/

  

Forum

Chapter 1 in the textbook.

Video

Creating a collage

Reflection on a service desk career

 

2

Achieving High Customer Satisfaction (cont'd)

  • The service desk analyst's role in the customer service value chain
  • Developing the right mix of skills
  

Textbook chapter reading.

  

Discussion Forum

Textbook reading

Writing about one of the following topics:

  • Evaluate technical support needs
  • Learn about service desk certifications
  • Learn about service desk outsourcing

Quiz

 

3

Developing Strong Listening and Communication Skills

  • Creating a positive telephone image
  • Fine-tuning telephone skills
  • Letting hour caring attitude shine through
  

https://visme.co/blog/the-4-communication-styles-quiz/

Chapter 2 in the textbook

  

Discussion forum

Writing a paper

Quiz

 

4

Winning Telephone Skills

  • Creating a positive telephone image
  • Fine-tuning telephone skills
  • Letting your caring attitude shing through
  

Chapter 3 in the textbook

  

Discussion forum

Writing assignment

Quiz

 

5

Technical Writing Skills for Support Professionals

  • Technology-delivered support
  • Writing service desk documents
  

Chapter 4 in the textbook (pages 130 - 161)

  

Discussion forum

Create a training aid

 

6

Technical Writing Skills for Support Professionals

  • Improving your technical writing skills
  

Complete chapter 4 in the textbook.

  

Discussion forum

Writing instructions

Quiz

 

7

Handling Difficult Customer Situations

  • The power of a positive attitude
  • Keeping yourself in control
  

Read Chapter 5, pages 187- 211

  

Case project

Discussion forum

Quiz

 

8

Mid-term

    

Mid-term on the topics covered in Weeks 1-7.

 

9

Solving and Preventing Incidents and Problems

  • Using processes to resolve incidents and problems
  • Solving incidents methodically
  • Taking ownership
  • Focusing on prevention
  

Chapter 6 in the textbook.

  

Discussion forum

Answering review questions

Quiz

 

10

Business Skills for Technical Professionals

  • Acquiring and using business skills in the workplace
  • Using business skills to identify and justify improvement
  

Chapter 7 in the textbook, read pages 268-287

  

Discussion forum

Help Desk ticketing system review

 

11

Using Presentations to Communicate

  • Designing and making presentations
  • Advanced business skills for technical professionals
  

Complete chapter 7 in the textbook

  

Discussion forum

Creating a presentation

Quiz

 

12

Teams and Team Players in a Service Desk Setting

  • Working as a team
  • Being a team player
  

Chapter 8 in the textbook.

  

Discussion forum

Answering review questions

Quiz

 

13

Minimizing Stress and Avoiding Burnout

  • Reducing the negative effects of stress
  • Managing your time
  

Chapter 9 in the textbook

  

Discussion forum

Hands-on case project on one of the following topics:

  • Interview a service desk employee
  • Learn about mastering change
  • Evaluate your workspace

Quiz

 

14

Creating and delivering a presentation

  • Creating and delivering a presentation that will be presented to the class
  

Presentation websites

  

Creating and delivering a presentation

 

15

Final Exam on topics covered since the mid-term

    
 

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

  • In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
  • Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
  • Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.


Participation Expectations

Full participation requires active and thoughtful engagement in class each week. The following habits and skills are important. You'll have the opportunity to self-assess and receive instructor feedback on each of these areas at the mid-point and the end of the semester.

  • Complete all of the week's reading and assignments by the due date
  • Positively contribute fully to class discussions and activities
  • Ask questions and seek help when you need it
  • Challenge yourself to do your best work


Missing & Late Work Policy

  • Late assignments can be submitted up to one day past the deadline. You will lose 10% for a late submission. After one day, it will not be accepted unless an extension has been granted. (See below regarding extensions.)
  • It is your responsibility to make sure that the correct assignment is submitted to an assignment link. If an incorrect assignment is submitted, it will be treated as a late assignment.
  • If an assignment is asked to be resubmitted by the instructor, 10% of the grade will be deducted for the late assignment.
  • Late work is not accepted in the discussion forum. Interacting with classmates is an essential part of online discussions and cannot be made up after the fact.
  • Assignments that are not submitted in the correct format will be treated like a late assignment and 10% will be deducted once the assignment is submitted in the correct format.
  • Extensions will be granted only in extenuating circumstances and must be requested before the assignment is due. If a lengthy medical problem or other emergent personal issue will result in missing weekly discussions and/or assignments, please contact me as soon as possible or contact your CCV advisor and ask them to contact me.
  • Students who know that they will not have course access for any given week should make arrangements with me to complete assignments and participation requirements prior to the absence.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:


CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please
  1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
  2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
  3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.


Academic Integrity


CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.