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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

IT Support Center moves to larger space in Academic Center

The+IT+Support+Center+moved+into+a+new+space+in+Rome+Hall+that+is+triple+the+size+of+the+location+it+occupied+last+year.+
The IT Support Center moved into a new space in Rome Hall that is triple the size of the location it occupied last year.

The IT Support Center only moved down the hallway from its previous location in the Phillips Hall basement, but its size has tripled compared to the space it occupied last year.

University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said the center was relocated to a larger room in basement of Rome Hall during a departmental reorganization but declined to say when the move occurred. She said the increased size will allow staff to help more students with technology problems and provide demonstrations and training, she said.

“This move is more convenient for our customers,” Csellar said. “It’s down the hall from where the room was last year, is easier to find and closer to the elevators.”

She said the space, which is still being renovated, is more prominent in the basement because of new signage directing students and other users to the center. Csellar said that since mid-August, 95 percent of people who sought help from the support center were satisfied with the assistance they received.

“The plans are to create a more collaborative space where GW students, staff and faculty have a vibrant, active technology area to visit for help, learn more and contribute ideas on the future of technology at GW,” she said.

Csellar added that the center hired an employee to oversee the center’s walk-up support. Now the center has a dedicated staff member to oversee the support center and is more “convenient” for students and faculty to use, Csellar said.

Geneva Henry, the dean of libraries and academic innovation, said in an interview last month that a new academic resource center housed in the library will work “collaboratively” with the IT center to ensure students who need to use technology support will know how to get to the new location.

James Harnett, a senior policy adviser to the Student Association president, said the IT Support Center’s move is part of the University’s effort to maximize space since administrators have shuffled around campus as they prepare to move out of Rice Hall.

He said the new space will also alleviate any issues with lines that the support center had in Phillips Hall.

“It’s really serving to meet the needs of students right now and what they will be in the future,” he said.

The IT division has been hit with budget cuts over the past four years and lost staff members when the cuts first went into effect two years ago.

Harnett said in discussions with the IT department, he has not heard about issues with the group’s smaller budget and has not heard concerns that the rollback has negatively impacted their ability to provide services.

Gillian Friend, a freshman who had never used the IT Support Center before, said she stumbled upon the center after her class Wednesday. She said the room was not cramped and she only had to wait for one person ahead of her in line.

The support center has room for multiple staff members working in the center at a time and has space for about two people to approach the desk at a time.

“They were pretty nice, they were cool and they did help me, so they solved my problem,” she said.

Jargalmaa Erdenebat, a first-year graduate student visiting the center Wednesday, said she considered contacting the office over the phone but was concerned the employees may not understand her English. She said she had difficulty finding the office until someone pointed her in the right direction, but she added that she did not have to wait for very long upon arriving.

“They provided me my application that I can put in my information without using my phone, I can log in to MyGW account now,” she said.

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