翻译《10 为网络世代提供支持服务》

Support Services for the Net Generation

为网络世代提供服务

J. James Wager

詹姆斯·韦杰

The Pennsylvania State University

宾夕法尼亚州立大学

© J. James Wager

版权所有(c)詹姆斯·韦杰

Introduction

前言

Traditional-age first-year freshmen entering college in the fall of 2005 were most likely born in 1987 when the information age was well under way. These students, known as the Net Generation, have grown up in an environment significantly different from the one most higher education faculty, staff, and administrators experienced during their developmental years. Many characteristics of the Net Generation have been described in other chapters of this book.

二〇〇五年秋季入学的普通大一新生，基本上出生于一九八七年，正是信息时代开始繁荣的时候。这些学生，就是通常所说的网络世代，成长环境与大多数高等教育教师、员工和管理人员在其成长阶段经历过的，有着显著不同。网络世代许多特征已在本书其他章节得到描述。

One of the most striking generational differences is that access to and use of technology is simply assumed by today's learners. Technology is invisible and intuitive; students don't "learn technology," nor do they think of it as separate from the activities it enables. For the Net Generation, just as television sets have "always" been in color with a remote control and a cable or satellite connection, the delivery of services has "always" been available on the Web or other relevant technology. Because of their background, the Net Generation has adopted a different set of premises and expectations that call for new—and sometimes challenging—responses from the academy.

对于如今的学习者而言，与以前几代人之间最显著的区别之一，就是获取和使用技术被认为很简单。技术是无形的，直观的，学生并没有“学习技术”，也不认为可以把技术和生活分离开。就像电视机必然是彩色的、有遥控器的、有电缆或卫星连接一样，对于网络世代，要提供服务，必然要通过网络或者相关技术来提供。由于他们的这种认识，需要对网络世代采用不同的前提和期望，要求学校有新的——有时候是富有挑战的——回应。

Some have described changing colleges and universities as akin to turning an aircraft carrier. Unlike a small pleasure boat that can maneuver quickly and change course rapidly, the aircraft carrier requires a carefully planned maneuver and a large berth to complete its turn. While information technology has had a significant impact on the Net Generation, practices and expectations within the academy remain relatively unchanged. Classes continue to be taught by instructors in classrooms. Students are expected to navigate complex administrative processes. In many ways, the academy continues to be staff centric. Although some colleges and universities have demonstrated measurable progress in moving toward a student-centered philosophy, many have not. Their administrative structure, information systems, and approach to the delivery of student services continue to represent the traditional hierarchy experienced by previous generations of students.

有些人把变化中的高等院校形容为类似于正在掉头的航母。不像小游船，可以快速机动改变航程，航母需要小心计划策略以及很大的泊位才能完成掉头。虽然信息技术对网络世代有着重大影响，学校给予他们的实践和期望相对来说仍然没有改变。上课仍然是老师在教师讲授。要求学生受制于复杂的行政管理流程。在许多方面，学校将继续以员工为中心。虽然有些高等院校已经在一定程度上转向以学生为中心的理念，但更多的高校还没有。他们的行政结构、信息系统、提供学生服务的手段，依然是上一代学生体验过的传统的领导阶层。

Nevertheless, the academy is changing. In addition to the Net Generation, external forces are influencing higher education.

虽然如此，学校仍然在改变。除了网络世代，外部力量也正在影响高等教育。

• Tuition increases are exceeding standard measures of inflation due to the escalating fixed costs of health insurance for employees, utility costs for buildings, and competitive salaries.
• 由于雇员逐年增加的健康保险费、建筑物的水电费、要给出有竞争力的薪金，导致学费增幅超过了通胀标准量度。
  


• The growing belief that the cost of a college education should be paid for by students, not taxpayers, has shifted the balance and delivery of federal student aid programs.
• 人们日益相信，大学教育的费用应该由学生支付而不是纳税人，已经改变了联邦学生援助程序的平衡和实施。
  


• A recent Supreme Court decision in a case involving admissions at the University of Michigan prompted a national examination of both admission and financial aid practices.
• 最近最高法院在判决密歇根大学入学案时，提议对入学和财政援助项目同时进行国家审查。


• The Y2K phenomenon resulted in great angst among system administrators, often driving the replacement of administrative information systems.
• 千年虫问题引发系统管理人员的极大焦虑，常常追赶管理信息系统的更新换代。
  


• The rise of for-profit educational institutions has begun to change the delivery of both online and on-campus courses, as well as associated services.
• 以营利为目的的教育机构的崛起，已经开始改变在线的和校园内的课程，以及配套服务。
  


• The rise of personal identity theft has forced colleges and universities to rethink their use of the Social Security number as the primary record identifier.
• 个人身份盗窃事件日益增多，迫使高校要重新考虑把社会安全号码当作主要记录识别号码用是否合适。

Such environmental changes have caused the academy to examine its policies, practices, and more importantly, the application of information systems to create more efficient operations and more effective student services.

这种环境的变化，使得学校审查自己的政策、方法，更重要的是，信息系统应用程序创造更高效的操作、更高效的学生服务。

Students as Consumers

学生消费者

The Net Generation expects good customer service. To many in higher education, using the term customer or consumer in the same sentence as student is akin to blasphemy. Yet, the Net Generation was raised in a customer-service culture. Today's students often exhibit less altruistic goals compared to past generations—they're primarily concerned with how their degree will affect lifelong salary potential and quality of life. In a very practical way, students want to see a relationship between the cost of their education and the delivery of quality services. For example, many institutions impose a required fee for information technology (IT) services. Students ask whether they are receiving the service for which they are required to pay—a reasonable question from the perspective of a consumer.

网络世代希望得到好的客户服务。对于高等教育大多数人而言，使用客户或者消费者这个词就好象亵渎了学生一样。然而，网络世代成长于客户服务文化当中。现在的学生表现出来的利他主义行为要比过去几代人少，他们最关心的是他们的学位如何影响到将来一辈子的薪水，以及生活质量。学生非常实际的看待他们的教育成本与获得的服务质量之间的关系。比如说，许多教育机构征收必要的信息技术服务费。学生问他们在必要的付费之后是否得到这项服务——从消费者角度问出的合情合理的问题。

The Net Generation brings a special flavor of consumerism to basic student services. Three generations ago, the model for registering students was to conduct an "arena registration." Most, if not all, academic administrators packed their offices and moved to the campus convocation hall, invited each student to report to the registration site at a designated time, and proceeded to match the student with courses. While some have argued that this approach was reasonably efficient, few have asserted that it was an effective mode of delivering this critically important student service. The introduction of voice-response touch-tone telephone technology in the mid-1980s and the emergence of Web-based registration services in the early 1990s have typically replaced the arena-registration approach. It would be an interesting social experiment to require Net Geners to leave the convenience of anytime, anyplace registration to return to the arena-style registration.

网络世代为基本学生服务带来了用户至上主义的特殊味道。三代人以前，学生注册的方式是进行“大厅登记”。不是全部也是绝大多数，学术行政管理人员的办公室挤满了人，不得不搬到会议大厅办公，请每一位学生在指定时间赶到注册地点报道，再核对学生的课程。虽然有些人声称这套程序相当有效率，但很少有人说，这是提供重要学生服务的高校模式。随着八十年代中期语音应答电话技术的引入，以及九十年代早期网上注册服务的出现，已经完全取代了室内运动场注册这种方法。要求网络世代放弃方便的随时随地注册，回到运动场注册，者一定是一个非常有趣的社会学实验。

Crossing Organizational Boundaries

跨越组织界限

The Net Generation expects their problems to be solved—quickly and easily. Students are not intimidated by titles such as registrar and bursar. The actual process of registering for courses extends over many campus offices—academic advising, student aid, registration, student accounts, and often ancillary units that handle items such as student ID cards or health services. The process of applying for and receiving student aid is complex, involving federal and state regulations as well as a myriad of grant and loan programs. The student's ability to succeed academically and graduate involves working with numerous offices, faculty, staff, policies, and procedures. While employees often know the institution's administrative structure, students generally do not.

网络世代希望他们的问题能够得到解决——快速而简单的解决。学生不会被登记员和财务主管的名头吓到。等级课程的实际流程还包括许多校园服务——学术指导、学生援助、登记、学生账户，并且往往附带处理其他事宜，诸如学生证、卫生服务等。申请和接受学生援助的过程非常复杂，涉及到联邦和各州法规，以及无数的赠与和贷款程序。学生要完成学业顺利毕业，需要和众多办公室、教师、员工、政策、程序打交道。员工们都知道教育机构的行政结构，而学生们一般都不知道。

During the arena-registration era, these services were typically integrated through a predetermined set of signatures on student-processing forms. The intention was for students to meet with the appropriate student services personnel to ensure they would be properly advised and guided. When seen from the student perspective, more often than not this approach was an exercise in collecting a sufficient number of signatures from departmental assistants. A staff member in some obscure office would complete the requested transaction.

在大厅登记时代，这些服务通常都是通过学生表格里预先设计好的一系列标识整合在一起的。其用意是让学生去迎合学生服务专员，以确保得到适当的建议和指导。如果从学生的角度来看，这种方法往往是从各部门助理那里收集大量签名的活动。某些隐蔽办公室的员工会完成需要的处理过程。

In the past decade, colleges and universities have improved the integration of student services through a "one stop" model. Common characteristics of this interorganizational approach are the physical construction of a student services center that houses all appropriate student services offices and staff, as well as a student services desk staffed by trained student services personnel. In spirit, such a response is an improvement over the approach used during the arena-registration era; however, in practice this approach has serious limitations that stand in the way of true integration. It is expensive to build new buildings or to renovate existing buildings to physically establish a student service center. Complete integration of all students services into a single job description is not realistic—there is simply too much to learn, and such positions are generally delegated to the most junior staff.

在过去十年中，高等院校通过一站式模式，改善了学生服务的整合程度。机构之间这些方法的共同特征是，有一幢有形的建筑——学生服务中心，里面有全部学生服务办公室和员工，由经过训练的学生服务工作人员承担学生服务事宜。这种改善，从精神上讲，依然是对大厅登记时代所用方法的改进。然而，这种方法在实践中有严重的局限性，阻碍了真正的一体化。为了建立学生服务中心，去建造新的建筑物，或者改造已有建筑物，很昂贵。将所有学生服务整合为单一工作流程，并不现实——需要我们关心的事情太多，这些职位一般委托给资历最浅的员工。

Rather than this brick-and-mortar approach to improving and integrating the delivery of student services, a more robust approach is to capitalize on the power of information technology. Creating a seamless virtual organization specifically commissioned to exceeding the expectations of today's Net Generation students is a reachable objective.

与其这样一砖一瓦的改善、整合学生服务，不如更坚定的运用信息技术的力量。专门创建无缝虚拟组织，超出现在网络世代学生的期望，这个目标更容易达到。

It's Not About Technology

与技术无关

The Net Generation cares about the activity technology enables, not the technology, per se. The use of technology to improve student services will be critical to the academy. Yet, it's not about technology. Technology is a tool—it represents the means, not the desired outcome. Students will use technology; in fact, they will expect services delivered through technology. But before focusing on technology, student service professionals must articulate a clear and unambiguous vision that provides the framework for the technology. IT staff are important contributors to the desired outcome and must be part of the process; however, the leadership for improved student services should not be expected to come from within the technology ranks. Rather, it must come from those charged with advising and registering students, administering student aid, admitting students, collecting tuition and fees, and so on.

网络世代关心的是可以实用技术的活动，而不是技术本身。运用技术改善学生服务，对高校而言至关重要。然而，这跟技术无关。技术只是工具——它代表的是手段，而不是想要的结果。学生会使用技术，事实上，他们会期待通过技术来提供服务。但是，在关注技术之前，学生服务专员必须明白目标，这个目标为技术提供了框架。对于想要的结果，信息技术员工至关重要，必须成为过程的一部分。然而，不应该要求改善学生服务的主要动力，来自于技术队伍内部。相反，它必须来自于那些承担了为学生提供咨询与注册、管理学生援助、招收学生、收取学杂费的人等。

IT Supports Rather than Leads

信息技术支持而非领导

Since every college and university is uniquely structured, specific student service offices vary in title and function. At the University of Kansas, the student affairs organization is called Student Success. During the past decade, offices or divisions of enrollment management have become common titles. Traditionally, titles such as registrar, admissions, student aid, student accounts, student affairs, and housing all identify units responsible for the delivery of specific student services. The availability and adoption of technology-driven applications does not change the focus or responsibility of these business units.

由于每所高等院校都有自己独特的结构，具体的学生服务办公室，名称和功能各不相同。在堪萨斯大学，学生事务机构被称作“学生成功”。在过去十年中，注册管理办公室已经成为共同的名称。传统上，登记处、招生办、学生援助、学生账户、学生事务，都指的是负责具体学生服务的同一个单位。技术驱动应用程序的使用，并不能改变这些业务部门的责任和工作重心。

The units responsible for student services will not change, but their staffing levels, knowledge, and approach to the delivery of services will. Even though senior administrators anticipate staff reductions because of technology, in practice this is rarely the outcome. While administrative positions may decrease, typically the number of IT positions increases. In many cases, the growth of IT positions occurs in both the central IT support office and the business units. IT becomes part of almost everyone's position; the remaining business unit nontechnical staff need to understand the new technological solutions and acquire new skills.

这些部门为学生服务所承担的责任并不会改变，但是他们提供服务的人员配备水平、知识、方法，将会改变。即使高级管理人员预计会因为技术而减少员工，但在实践中很少会出现这种结果。虽然行政职位会减少，但是信息技术职位一般会增加。许多情况下，信息技术职位的增多，同时出现在信息技术中央支持办公室和各个业务部门。信息技术几乎变成了每个人职务的一部分，余下的业务部门非技术员工需要理解新的技术解决方案，掌握新的技能。

The institution's business units are faced with new issues as technology-based services grow. For example, properly developed Web applications should enable users to contact a business specialist if they encounter problems or have questions. Such questions are often e-mailed to a business unit drop box. It becomes imperative that the business unit has a plan to receive, read, and reply to this steady stream of incoming e-mail messages. Net Gen students are more inclined to e-mail requests than to ask for advice in person. In many cases, the business unit must reorganize its staff to shift from receiving walk-in traffic to replying to e-mail.

教育机构的业务部门，都面临以技术为基础的服务日益增多这一新问题。比如，适当发展的网页应用会让用户在遇到问题或者需要求助的时候，联系业务专家。这些问题往往通过电子邮件寄往业务部门的邮递箱。业务部门安排收取、阅读、回复络绎不绝的电子邮件信息，成为必不可少的事务。网络世代学生更倾向于通过电子邮件请求，而不是面对面询问意见。在许多情况下，业务部门必须改组其员工，从接待熙攘人群转移到回复电子邮件。

Another common change to staffing patterns within the business unit is to ensure the ability to "see what the student sees." Given the typical design architecture of secure Web services, only the designated individual (student) may access and modify his or her personal record. The staff member within the business unit may have the organizational authority to access and modify the student's record, but the technology may prevent staff access.

业务部门人员配备模式上的另一项常见的改变，是确保有能力“看到学生所看到的”。考虑到安全网页服务的典型架构设计，只能指定个人（学生）可以访问并修改他自己的个人记录。业务部门的员工可能有机构授权，访问并修改学生的记录，但是技术会阻止员工这样做。

As student services are developed, they must continue to be the responsibility of the business unit. It can be tempting to rely on the IT staff when problems arise or when a student challenges the process or results. Similarly, technologists might want to assume responsibility for the business process because they "own" the hardware that stores the data and the business logic. Both of these approaches are inappropriate: the business unit must retain primary ownership of the process and the delivery of its set of student services, and the IT department should focus on infrastructure support issues such as networking, security, database management, backup and recovery, and other global issues.

随着学生服务的发展，他们必须继续承担业务部门的责任。当问题出现时、有学生质疑处理过程或结果时，，非常有可能依赖于信息技术员工。同样的，技术员工可能会承担业务过程的责任，因为他们“拥有”存储数据和业务逻辑的硬件。这些方法都是不正确的：业务部门必须对他自己所提供的学生服务及其处理过程，保留主要的所有权，信息技术部门应该关注支持问题的基础设施，诸如网络、安全、数据库管理、备份与恢复以及其他整体性的问题。

For Both the Net Generation and Nontraditional Learners

面向网络世代和非传统学习者

Students want customized and personalized services, not a one-size-fits-all approach. There is little question that the Net Generation has expectations that are more encompassing, and perhaps more demanding, than those of previous generations. At the same time, the landscape of higher education is changing in other ways. For example, the number of adult learners continues to increase at many colleges and universities.

学生需要定制和个性化服务，而不是千人一面的方法。毫无疑问，网络世代比前面几代人要求更全面，可能也更多。同时，高等教育的景观在其他方面也发生着变化。比如，在很多高等院校，成人学习者的数量持续增多。

Adult learners have a different set of support needs compared to Net Geners. Beyond the obvious difference of age and time away from the classroom, adult learners may not have the same comfort level or familiarity with technology—and they may be the least advised on how to use it.

与网络世代相比，成人学习者需要不同形式的支持。除了课堂上明显的年龄和时间差距，成人学习者可能没有相同的技术舒适度和熟悉程度，对于如何使用技术，他们需要起码的建议。

The difference in populations places a challenge on service developers to ensure that all students have equal access to services, which may require extended support to adult learners in order for them to gain a working knowledge of the systems and supporting tools (campus IT account, classroom management systems, Web services, e-commerce). Serving adult learners might also require that student services continue to be delivered in an in-person, synchronous manner. The simple caution is that when it comes to the deployment of technology-based solutions to students, a one-size-fits-all solution may not be appropriate.

人数上的不同，促使服务开发者确保所有学生能够平等获取服务，这可能需要扩展支持，以使成人学习者获得服务系统和支持工具（校园信息技术帐号、课堂管理系统、网页服务、电子商务）的工作知识。服务于成人学习者，可能会要求学生服务继续以现场同步的方式提供。仅仅需要注意，以涉及到部署基于技术的学生解决方案，一刀切的方案可能就不再适合了。

Technology as a Transformational Tool

把技术当作转换工具

For the Net Generation, quality of service matters. This requires more than automation; it requires transformation. Perhaps the single most interesting challenge to college and university administrators responsible for delivering student support services is the role technology plays in transforming the delivery of these services. While it is not about technology, it is about a symbiotic relationship between a basic need and the technology that delivers a response to that need.

对于网络世代，服务质量是个问题。它需要的远不止自动化，还需要转换。也许对于高等院校行政管理人员所负责的学生支持服务而言，最有趣的挑战就是技术在改变这些服务的形式中的作用。虽然这跟技术无关，但它涉及基本需求与承载对需求的应答的技术之间的共生关系。

A prime example of how technology has transformed basic student services is the National Student Clearinghouse. A decade ago, there was a three-way exchange of paper documents between an enrolled student, the institution, and the financial lender. The lender required proof of enrollment for the student to retain a nonrepayment status on the loan. The student would receive a document from the lender for completion by the institution; the school would receive the document from the student, complete it, and return it to either the student or the lender. This process was inconvenient for the student, time-consuming for the institution, and difficult to schedule for the lender.

技术如何改变基本学生服务的最佳范例，是全国学生交流中心。十年前，在注册学生、教育机构和金融出借人之间，需要进行三向的纸质文件交换。出借人需要学生的注册凭证，作为偿还期间的抵押。学生会从出借方得到一份文件，有教育机构来完成；学校会得到一份学生的文件，完成以后返回给学生或者出借人。这一过程对学生极不方便，对教育机构很费时间，而出借人则难以安排贷款。

Technology enabled a transformation that is much better suited to Net Geners—or any busy student, regardless of age. Through the establishment of a central repository, colleges and universities can transfer the pertinent data to the clearinghouse; the lending institutions now make their enrollment status inquiries against this repository. The clearinghouse increased effectiveness for students and improved efficiencies for both lenders and institutions.

技术导致的转变，让这一过程更适合网络世代，或者任何忙碌的学生，而不论其年龄。通过建立中央数据库，高等院校可以把适当的数据传输给票据交换所，贷款机构现在可以通过注册状态来查询数据库。票据交换所对学生提高了效用，为出借人和教育机构改善了效率。

In this example, the goal—validation of student enrollment to ensure continuance of student aid borrower status—did not change. What changed significantly were the processes employed to achieve this outcome. Shifting from a manual to an automated system established new research capabilities and eliminated lost or misplaced documents and resulting delays or duplicate effort.

在此例中，目标——确认学生注册以确保学生援助借款人资格的持续性——并没有改变。在相当大的程度上改变的是实现这一目标的过程。从手工操作到自动化系统的转变，建立起了新的研究能力，消除了大量错误文档和因此导致的延迟及事倍功半。

Pennsylvania State University's recent modification of placement testing for new students offers another example of using technology to transform processes. The purpose of administering a placement test (for example, in English, chemistry, or mathematics) is to ensure that students start these courses at the proper level. Some students are academically prepared for college-level work, some need remediation, and others are ready for more advanced levels.

宾夕法尼亚州立大学当前对新生定级测试的修改，为使用技术改变过程提供了又一个范例。执行定级测试（比如，文学、化学、数学）的目的是确保学生以应有的水平开始课程。某些学生的学识已经为大学学习做好准备，某些人还需要补习，还有一些已经为更高水平的学习做好了准备。

Traditionally, students were invited to campus during the summer before their first year of study. The placement test was administered; the student was notified of the result. Traveling to campus to take the placement test was often an inconvenience (or impossibility). Participation was lower than desired, and timely feedback was impossible due to test grading. The process did not meet the Net Generation's need for convenience, customization, and immediate feedback. Thanks to technology, these placement tests are now administered through secure Web applications. Students can take these tests at their convenience and at their location. Although these are placement-level tests, not exams for academic credit, student cheating on these examinations was nevertheless a concern; however, the examination of placement recommendations compared to actual performance in the enrolled course of both pre- and post-Web populations indicates that cheating has not occurred. The unexpected, but positive, student response has been a feeling of trust. Many students have commented on their genuine appreciation that the university demonstrated trust early by allowing them to take these placement tests unmonitored.

传统上，会在学生入学前的暑假邀请学生来学校。这时候就执行定级测试，然后通知学生结果。赶往学校参加定级测试往往不方便（甚至不可能）。实际参加的少于发出的邀请，测试评分也不可能及时反馈给学生。这一过程并不能满足网络世代对便利、用户化和及时反馈的需求。幸亏有了技术，现在定级测试可以通过安全网络应用来执行。学生可以在他们方便的时候、地点执行这些测试。虽然这些只是定级测试，而不是学分考试，但是学生在这些测试当中舞弊仍然值得关注。然而，对定级建议与网络测试之前之后注册课程的人数实际表现的比较审查，表明并没有发生舞弊。这很意外，也很正面，学生的反应体现出信任。许多学生评论其真实评定说，大学允许他们在没有监视的情况下参与这些测试，就已经展示了信任。

Technology can also transform business processes by enabling them to become more efficient, effective, and student focused. Consider the process of informing students and their advisers of the courses that will be available for registration the upcoming semester. Traditionally, Penn State printed a booklet each semester containing timetables of course offerings, course descriptions, registration instructions, and other pertinent enrollment information. These booklets were prepared well in advance of the semester, and subsequent course changes were either unpublicized or a supplement was printed.

技术也可以转换业务过程，使其变得更有效率、更有效果、更加关注学生。请考虑为注册下一学期的课程而通知学生及其指导教授的过程。宾夕法尼亚州立大学传统的做法是，每学期打印小册子，包含有课程设置时间表、课程描述、注册指示，以及其他需要的注册信息。在开学前准备好这些小册子，随后发生的课程更改既不会印刷出来也不会增补进去。

Through technology, this process changed in ways that are responsive to the Net Generation. The information is published on the Web rather than on paper. Rather than a one-time publication, the schedule is updated and republished in real time. The Web allows for the inclusion of additional information that was impossible in the paper format. Faculty can link to their course syllabus, the registrar can link to characteristics of the classroom and the course, and academic departments can link to descriptions that exceed the typical 30-word limit for course catalogs. In short, technology has enabled institutions to respond to student expectations in ways that were impossible before.

通过技术，改变了这一过程，以响应网络世代。信息发布在网页上而不是纸张上。时间表不是一次性的出版物，而是不断更新和实时重新发布的。网页允许包含纸张格式不可能包含的额外信息。教师可以链接到他们的课程提纲上，登记员可以链接到课堂和课程的特点描写上，学术部门可以链接到详细描述上，这些详细描述超出了课程分类三十个字的限制。总之，技术可以让教育机构以以前不可能的方式满足学生的期待。

Interrelationship of Service and Technology

技术与服务的相辅相成关系

The Net Gen expects convenient, safe, reliable, and flexible access. While the development of student services is not about technology, the support of today's extended and accessible services would be impossible without the presence of a robust technology infrastructure. Conceptually, there is a clear distinction between application development and the "system" that allows these services to be delivered. In reality, the two issues are tightly coupled.

网络世代期望便利、安全、可靠、灵活的接入。虽然学生服务的发展与技术无关，但是今天广泛而方便的服务，离不开健全的技术架构的支持。从概念上讲，在应用发展与提供这些服务的系统之间有着明显的区别。事实上，这两个问题是紧密结合在一起的。

The constant and rapidly changing nature of technology requires those developing support services for the Net Generation to be aware of both the current technology boundaries and the emerging promises. The following examples illustrate this important interconnectedness between the service and the technology used to deliver it.

技术的持续性和快速变化的特性，为网络世代提供不断发展的支持服务，需要知道先进技术边界以及新兴的能力。以下范例说明了服务和用来承载服务的技术之间的重要关联。

• Occasionally lateral steps that do not improve the nature of the service are required due to the shifting technology at the core of the process. The half-life of software and hardware continues to decline; the period of time from acquisition to obsolescence keeps getting shorter. The latest laptop, desktop, or midtier server purchased today will likely be improved by the manufacturer within a year. The resulting machine will be less expensive (all other attributes held constant) with greater performance capabilities. While this does not necessarily make the original purchase an inappropriate decision, it does provide a warning that within a few years hardware or software may need to be replaced. Constant, escalating change has a direct impact on student services.
• 由于核心过程中的改变技术的原因，有时候一些细枝末叶，对于改善服务本质并不是必需的。由于软件的半衰期和硬件价格持续降低，从获得技术到废弃的周期越来越短。现在购得的最新的笔电、台式机、中档服务器会在一年之内就被生产商推陈出新。这样一来机器会更便宜，性能会更好（而其他属性会保持不变）。虽然这并不会让当初的购买决定变得不合适，但会警示人们很短几年内硬软件都可能需要更换。不断改良会直接影响到学生服务。
  


• Inappropriate uses of technology require that developers take a defensive posture to ensure the integrity and stability of their services. Unfortunately, these preventive steps are expensive and represent a diversion of time and money from the business at hand—supporting our constituencies. As the adoption of Web-based services continues to expand, we are also experiencing the dark side of innovation—using technology to promote fraudulent services or disrupt legitimate services. The number and severity of Internet-spread viruses are on the rise, as are instances of fraudulent services that result in identity theft or credit card fraud. In direct response, many colleges and universities are expending huge resources to migrate away from using the Social Security number as the primary identifier for students, faculty, and staff. Within the higher education sector, the number of diploma-mill operations is on the rise.
• 技术的不当使用要求开发者，在确保服务的正直和稳定性的时候采用防御保守的姿态。不幸的是，这些预防措施昂贵而且浪费手头业务——支持用户——的时间金钱。随着采用网页技术的服务不断增多，我们也经历着创新的黑暗面——利用技术推广欺诈或者破坏合法服务。网络病毒的数量和为还在不断攀升，因为欺诈服务而导致身份被盗或信用卡欺诈的例子很多。其直接后果是，许多使用社会安全号码作为学生、教师、员工的主要认证方式的的高校耗费大量资源迁移走。在高等教育领域，野鸡大学的数量在也不断增加。
  


• A reliable, fast, and secure network—both wired and wireless—is necessary to deliver the developed support services. Another critical infrastructure issue is networking. During the past decade, colleges and universities spent enormous sums of money wiring their campuses. The goal was to connect every residence hall room, classroom, and faculty office to the Internet. With much of this accomplished, these same institutions are now investing heavily in wireless networks. Although needed, these expenditures divert investment from new support services. In addition, they represent an ongoing commitment to maintenance and necessary upgrades.
• 无论有线无线，可靠快速安全的网络，对于承载发达的支持服务，都是必需的。另一个严重的架构问题就是网络。在过去十年间，高校花费巨资在校内布线。其目标是将每一间宿舍、教室、办公室接入互联网。尽管大部分已经完成，但是这些教育机构目前又在大量投入无线网络。虽有必要，但这些开支都是从新的支持服务投资转过来的。另外，也包括了目前正在进行的维护工作和必要的升级。
  


• The preferred solution, from a number of perspectives, is integrated and full-service support services. As the number and extent of support services continue to grow, students want the university to provide a complete, full-service approach. Those who pay fees, as students do, expect services and convenience. These expectations result in the need to provide the infrastructure for e-commerce applications, for example.
• 从各个方面讲，首选解决方案，是综合的全方位支持服务。由于支持服务的数量和范围不断扩大，学生希望大学提供完整的全方位的服务方式。学生们付了钱，当然希望得到服务和便利。比如说，这些需求促使为电子商务应用提供基础设施。
  


• Support services must be reliable, consistent, and available. Mistakes happen and hardware fails; as a result, data recovery and system recovery are important. Files or databases may be accidentally destroyed. A virus may penetrate the security perimeter and cause damage. A failed hard drive might result in the inability to access a file. Whatever the root cause, there must be a data backup service so that critical information is not lost permanently. Institutions also need to consider their ability to recover from a larger disaster—fire, hurricane, earthquake, terrorist attack, and so on. Disaster recovery represents yet another necessary diversion of resources from support service development. Without a robust and reliable technology infrastructure, however, the services cannot be delivered.
• 支持服务必须是可靠的、一致的、可用的。由于会出现错误和硬件故障，因此数据恢复和系统复原很重要。文件和数据库有可能被意外销毁。病毒有可能侵入安全屏障，造成危害。受损的硬盘会导致无法访问文件。更何况启动故障。这都必须有一个数据备份服务，这样重要信息才不会永远丢失。教育机构还需要考虑从大型灾难中——火灾、飓风、地震、恐怖袭击等——恢复的能力。灾难恢复是支持服务开发的另一项必要分支。然而，没有健壮而可靠的技术架构，这些服务就不能使用。
  

So, while not about technology, higher education cannot ignore technology support issues; they are critical as strategic services are developed for our constituents.

因此，尽管跟技术无关，但是高等教育不能忽略技术支持问题。技术跟为我们用户提供的战略服务同样重要。

Integration, Opportunity, and Service

集成、机会、服务

The Net Generation wants integrated and convenient services. Technology has the power to integrate the delivery of support services, create new opportunities, and deliver world-class levels of service. Many colleges and universities now use the Web to organize, present, and deliver support services. The University of Michigan provides services through Wolverine Access. At the University of Texas, students access UT Direct. The University of Minnesota delivers services through One Stop, and the University of Maryland uses Testudo. At Penn State, students faculty, and academic advisers use eLion (https://elion.oas.psu.edu/).

网络世代要求综合便捷的服务。技术有能力整合目前的支持服务、创造新机会、提供世界级的服务。许多高校现在使用网络管理、呈现、提供支持服务。密西根大学通过金刚狼接入方案提供服务。在得克萨斯大学，学生可以直接访问学校网站。明尼苏达大学提供一站式服务方案，马里兰大学使用陆龟方案。在宾夕法尼亚州立大学，学生、教师和学术顾问使用eLion方案。

Overview of the Penn State eLion System

宾夕法尼亚州立大学eLion系统概述

In the early 1990s, Penn State received an increasing number of student complaints that the academic advising system was lacking. Students felt they were not receiving good advice; many were not assigned an adviser, and assigned advisers were not available when needed. Students claimed that rather than seeking assistance from their advisers, they would turn to other students, friends, or parents for academic advice. The administration responded to these complaints by committing to improve the quality and accessibility of academic advising.

在九十年代初，宾夕法尼亚州立大学受到越来越多的学生投诉缺乏学术指导体制。学生觉得他们没有得到很好的建议。很多人并没有被指定顾问，指定的顾问在需要时却找不到。学生声称，与其从顾问那里得到帮助，他们更愿意向其他学生、朋友、家长寻求学术建议。校方回应这些投诉，承诺改善学术指导机制的质量和便捷性。

A cross-functional team was formed with representatives from key offices—academic advising, the registrar, and several colleges. Their charge was to develop an expert-based, empirically grounded advising and information system, delivered by the latest technologies, to supplement the student-adviser relationship and engage students in inquiry for informed educational planning.

由来自关键部门的代表——学术顾问、登记员，以及若干高校组成了跨职能团队。他们的任务是建立一个以专家为基础、以经验为主的咨询和信息系统，运用最新技术，补充学生-顾问关系，吸引学生调研以事实为依据的教育规划。

This charge was not about technology. It was about the development of a set of services that would improve student success. Technology would simply be the delivery vehicle. As the work of the team progressed, the following developmental principles emerged:

这笔开支与技术无关。这跟开发能促进学生成功的一系列服务有关。技术仅仅是传输的媒介。随着团队的进展，得到了以下原则：

• Expert interactive advising—Use the knowledge base of the university's best academic advisers to develop an expert system to extend this knowledge to the full array of students seeking advice.
• 专家互动咨询——使用该校最好的学术顾问的知识库，开发一套专家系统，让这些知识可以为所有寻求指导的学生所用。
  


• Direct service to consumers—Use of the services would not require an administrative staff member's involvement.
• 面向用户的直接服务——使用这些服务并不需要管理人员的参与。
  


• Personalized to the student—The services would be student specific, based on the student's academic record and affiliations. The system would not use generalities to convey information and advice.
• 为学生进行个性化——该服务可以根据学生学术成绩和所属系别，为学生提供具体的服务。该系统不会用泛泛而谈的话语传达信息和建议。


• Secure Web-based delivery—Accessibility would not be limited by place or time. Any student with access to the Web would have access to these services at any time.
• 安全的网络传输——访问系统不受时间地点的限制。任何可以上网的学生都可以在任何时刻访问这些服务。
  


• Multiple development teams—To grow the system as rapidly as possible, concurrent development teams were established to design, test, and implement specific services. These teams were sponsored by the primary business units (registrar, student aid, bursar, and academic advising) responsible for the support services.
• 多个开发团队——为了尽可能快的提升该系统的品质，同时有多个开发团队保证设计、测试、实施具体服务。这些团队得到了负责相应支持服务的主要业务部门（登记员、学生助理、财务主任、学术顾问）的支持。
  


• Standards based—By necessity, a multiple development team environment required both presentation and technical standards to ensure the end user experienced a seamless set of services.
• 基于标准——必然的，多开发团队环境需要表现形式和技术两方面的标准，以确保最终用户体验到服务的无缝集成。
  

Eliminating the Stovepipe Approach to Student Services

消除学生服务的直筒子方法

This developmental approach dramatically changed Penn State's overall design of support services both for eLion and more general services. While each application is owned by a business unit, all applications are branded eLion (see Figure 1); there is no attribution to the specific office that developed the application. From a student perspective, application ownership does not matter; what matters is that the service is fulfilling a need.

这种开发方法极大改变了宾州大学支持服务的整体设计，既包括eLion系统也包括更一般的服务。虽然每个应用程序分属于每个业务部门，但是所有应用程序都打有eLion的烙印（见图一）。并没有把程序的开发也归属于具体办公室。用学生的角度来看，应用程序的归属并不重要，重要的是服务能够满足需求。

Figure 1. Screen Shot of the eLion Interface

图一：eLion界面截屏

The early internal challenge, and to some extent a continuing one, was for the developers to think about a service from the student perspective rather than their own internal administrative perspective. For example, a student might not have been able to complete registration due to a delayed scholarship. This same student may be living in a residence hall and involved with a student organization. From the student's perspective, one issue cut across several administrative offices. One of the intended outcomes was for the developmental staff to think in a more horizontal mode—as a student would solve a problem—and not in a vertical, stovepipe mode. The approach has worked. When enrolled students were asked about their use of technology, they responded that their most often used application was e-mail; a very close second was eLion. The popularity of eLion is due to the services it provides—services students need.

早期的内部问题，在一定程度上依然存在，其一就是开发者应当从学生角度而不是他们自身的内部管理角度去思考服务。比如，由于奖学金延迟，学生可能不能完成注册。同样的学生可能住在宿舍，参加学生社团。从这个学生的角度来看，有个问题横跨在若干行政办公室面前。对于开发人员的预期成果之一是从更加横向的方式思考——作为一名能够解决问题的学生——而不是纵向的、直筒子的模式。这种方法已然奏效。当问及注册学生他们对技术的使用，他们回答他们最常使用的应用是电子邮件，紧接其后的就是eLion。eLion 的流行归功于所提供的服务——为学生的需求而服务。

Leadership and Vision

领导才能与远见

The development of the Penn State eLion system did not follow a traditional development pattern; the development efforts were intentionally decentralized across many offices, and the project leadership was highly integrated through the use of collaborative teams. The system was not the result of incremental planning or change but of a strategic decision. The evolution of systems within colleges and universities is often driven by external forces. The articulated need at Penn State was to improve academic advising services; however, there was no specific vision of how to accomplish this. Through the creative and collaborative efforts of staff in leadership roles, the early model and design of eLion emerged.

宾州大学eLion 系统的开发并没有按照传统开发模式进行。有意将开发工作分散给许多办公室，通过团队间的协作，使项目领导力得到高度整合。该系统不是逐渐规划或改变的结果，而是战略决策的结果。该系统在高校的发展往往是由外部力量驱动的。宾州大学明确要求改善学术建议服务，然而，对于如何做到这一点并没有具体的设想。通过担任领导职务的员工创造性的协作工作，eLion 的早期设计模型出现了。

The first models were virtual prototypes that described the intended function and result. The models were presented to senior university administrators who allocated development funds ($50,000) to pursue the creation of a prototype. These funds were used to provide training for existing staff and to purchase specialized software. Following a successful proof-of-concept demonstration, several teams were organized. One was responsible for the design of application standards and presentation techniques. Two additional teams were tasked with the development of the first student service applications. A fourth team focused on technical architecture requirements.

第一个模型是虚拟原型，描述了预期功能及结果。该模型呈现给学校主要管理人员，他们分配开发经费（五万美元）从事原型的创作。这些经费都用于为现有工作人员提供培训，以及购买特定软件。经过成功的概念验证性质的演示，组织起了若干团队。其一负责设计应用程序标准和呈现技术。另外两个团队的任务是开发第一款学生服务应用。第四个团队关注必需的技术架构。

For the first three years, progress was slow. During this time, Penn State leadership remained committed to the original vision and provided the fiscal and emotional support needed to keep the project moving forward. Today's system would not have been possible without this strong, top-down support and without a clear vision from the project team itself.

在头三年，进度很慢。在此期间，宾州大学的领导继续致力于最初的梦想，并为项目能继续前进提供财政和情感上的必要支持。如果没有这些自上而下的强大的支持，如果项目团队没有一个清晰的认识，今天这套系统是不可能产生的。

Disciplined Development

严守纪律的开发过程

An important part of the vision was to provide a set of services that would quickly scale to a very large (100,000+) population of users, which required that the system be standards based, uniform, self-documenting, and reliable. Further, users needed to be able to offer comments and suggestions and receive personalized help.

该愿景的一个重要部分，就是为非常庞大的用户群（十万人以上）提供一系列可以快速量化的服务，而这要求系统的开发过程遵守标准、制度化、自我记录、可靠。更进一步，用户需要能够提供意见建议，并获得个性化的帮助。

A standards document (see https://elion.oas.psu.edu/governance/eLionGov_9.pdf) was developed to provide guidance to all eLion developers. This document includes information on how to create a new application or modify an existing one, Web standards, and technical standards, as well as general information about the structure and governance of the eLion initiative.

开发了一份标准文档，为所有eLion 开发者提供指导。该文档包括如何创建新应用程序、修改已有应用程序的相关信息，以及网页标准、技术标准，还有关于eLion 的结构和管辖权的一般信息。

Each eLion application has internal help documentation for users. Because the system is secure, a demonstration service provides a nonauthenticated view of typical applications. A statement in the standard footer of each page indicates that the page is maintained by eLion. Behind this link is a page-specific e-mail address that routes questions or inquiries to the appropriate developer.

每份eLion 应用程序都为用户提供内部帮助文档。由于系统的安全的，示范服务提供了典型应用程序的非验证视角。每一页面的标准页脚里都有一条声明宣称，该页面受到eLion 的维护。在此链接后面，是一份因页面而不同的电子邮件地址，它可以把问题和咨询导向合适的开发者。

Applications are also designed to be self-documenting. This is a difficult challenge, since every user is unique (personal background, Web familiarity, comfort level with technology). Nevertheless, the goal has been to design all applications so that specialized training, documentation manuals, and staff involvement are not required.

应用程序还被设计成可以自我记录。这很困难，因为每位用户都是惟一的（个人背景、网络熟悉程度、技术的熟练程度）。尽管这样，但还是为所有应用程序定下了这样一个目标，这样一来，专门培训、文档手册、工作人员介入等都不是必需的了。

Politics, Tradition, and Turf

政策、传统与势力范围

The Net Generation's expectation is for immediacy; they don't understand why colleges are slow to change. Perhaps the most challenging issue in developing enhanced student support services has to do with the campus administrative climate. Ideally, there would be unanimous agreement regarding the services that are needed, how they should be deployed, and the support plan necessary to keep them robust and relevant. In reality, multiple issues and perspectives on campus do not converge into a single vision. One colleague described this effort as attempting to herd cats. Another described this management issue as akin to managing a cemetery—a lot of people are involved, but there's not much movement. Whatever the analogy, an administrative climate must be established that provides an enabling environment, focused on the academic support that fosters student success. Students do not attend an institution because it has the best registration system or the most complete self-service Web system. Rather, they attend because of the quality of academic programs, the reputation of faculty, and the perceived value of their degrees. While registration systems and other administrative applications are essential, they are secondary compared to the fundamental academic objective.

网络世代只看到当前，他们并不理解为什么高校的改变很慢。也许在开发更好的学生支持服务过程中，最大的挑战与学校的管理风格有关。理想情况下，都会对如何部署必要服务，以及保持其健壮和关系的必要支持计划，达成一致。在现实中，对于校园的很多问题和看法，并不能达成单一看法。一位同事形容这样做就等于要放牧一群猫。另一位同事形容管理这些问题就像是管理公墓——有很多人但都不动。无论怎么比喻，都必须确定管理风格，这样才能提供一个有利的环境，把重点放在培养学生成功的学术支持上。学生并不会因为某教育机构有最好的注册系统、最完整的自注册网络系统，就选择这所教育机构；相反，他们选择某所教育机构，是因为其学术项目的质量，教师的声望，学分的感知价值。虽然注册系统和其他行政管理应用程序必不可少，但是与基本的学术目标相比，他们是次要的。

As stated earlier, establishing this climate is not about technology. More likely, it is about the on-campus political environment, institutional tradition, and the perception of whose turf is being violated. The decision to develop technology-delivered student services should be both a top-down and bottom-up decision. The initiative must be supported by the institution's leadership to move in this direction. Fiscal support will also be needed to keep this initiative alive, as well as support, at times, to defend fundamental change. Many campus organizations will likely be involved, so establishing and promoting cross-functional project teams becomes critical.

如前所述，建立起这样的管理氛围跟技术无关。更大程度上，与校园政治环境、学校传统、势力范围被侵犯的人的认知有关。开发以技术为基础的学生服务应该同时得到自上而下和自下而上的决心。该倡议要能继续前进，必须得到机构领导的支持。要让该倡议能继续生存下去，财政支持也是必需的，有时还需要防止基础变更。学校很多机构都涉足其中，因此建立并促进跨职能项目团队变得很重要。

Similarly, the initiative must have bottom-up support. What specific services or array of services will improve student satisfaction, academic retention, and administrative efficiency? The project objectives must be complementary and lead to a seamless, logical, and integrated set of services.

同样，该倡议必须得到自下而上的支持。哪些单独的服务或者服务系列能够提高学生的满意程度、学术保持力和行政效率？该项目的目标必须是辅助并通向无缝的、逻辑的、整合的一整套服务。

Beyond the campus political climate, tradition is an important factor in the development of student services. A classic argument is that if registration procedures are automated, the computer will replace the adviser, the quality of the advising system will decline, and students will make uninformed choices. Developing eLion challenged this traditional hierarchy. Does the adviser's signature on a student action form represent permission or consultation? Is it reasonable to conclude that all faculty advisers are fully aware of institutional policies and procedures? Do students know the name of their academic adviser? Is the adviser available for consultation? These questions must be addressed because they challenge traditional processes and assumptions.

除了校园的政治氛围，传统也是开发学生服务很重要的因素。一个典型的观点是，如果注册流程自动化，那么计算机就会取代指导教授，顾问系统的质量就会下降，学生在信息不足的情况下做出选择。eLion 的开发过程挑战了这一传统体制。指导教授对学生行为形式的认可，是否表示许可或鉴定？取消所有熟悉传统政策和流程的指导教授，是否合理？学生是否知道其学术顾问的姓名？指导教授是否有商有量？这些问题必须得到解决，因为他们触及传统流程和假设。

Integration Depends on the Organization

整合依赖于机构

During the past decade, higher education has sought to become more student centered. One of the manifestations has been the establishment of one-stop student service centers that combine the front desks of multiple offices. The intention behind such centers has been to reduce the hassle for students and provide one comprehensive service center. This approach has met with varying degrees of success. In most cases it has required the construction—or extensive remodeling—of physical space, administrative reorganization, cross-training of staff, and a cultural change. Penn State and others have bypassed this physical approach and have concentrated instead on a virtual student service center. The virtual approach, exemplified by eLion, provides a richer opportunity to integrate services and allows greater extensibility by time and distance. This approach, however, requires a strong IT infrastructure.

过去十年间，高等教育试图变得更加以学生为中心。表现之一就是建立了一站式学生服务中心，综合了多个办公室的前台。这些学生服务中心背后的意图是要减少学生的麻烦，提供一个全面的服务中心。这种做法取得了不同程度的成功。大多数情况下，需要建造或者大范围改造现实场所，需要行政改组、交叉培训工作人员，以及文化上的转变。宾州大学以及其他大学绕过这种现实中的做法，全力以赴建立虚拟学生服务中心。这种虚拟方法，得到了eLion 的证明，它为整合服务、允许时间空间上更大的扩展性，提供了丰富的机会。然而，这种方法，需要强大的信息技术基础设施。

Where does the institutional decision regarding support service reside, and what are the implications of implementation? Should the top-down approach prevail to ensure an integrated and systematic enterprise-wide approach to the development of student services? Should this initiative be championed by the chief academic officer, the IT director, student affairs, enrollment management, business services, or another senior executive? What role should the current IT organization play? Should existing campus information systems be retooled, should the mainframe be unplugged, or should an enterprise system be installed? Or, should the entire IT operation be outsourced to an independent third party? These questions require a careful and open analysis. The answer will depend on the institution and a series of factors.

与支持服务相关的学校决策属于哪一方面，执行的影响有哪些？开发学生服务，自上而下的方法一定会强过综合的有系统的企业级方法？首席学术官员、信息技术主管、学生事务官员、注册管理人员、业务服务人员，以及其他高级管理人员是否应该拥护该倡议？当前信息技术机构应该扮演什么样的角色？是否应该重组现有的校园信息系统，是否应该拆除现有主机，是否应该安装企业系统？或者，整套信息技术运作是否应该外包给独立第三方？这些问题需要仔细而开放的分析。阿安取决于教育机构和一系列因素。

One of the leading factors will be the institution's ability to attract and retain a qualified IT workforce. In recent years, the supply and demand for IT professionals has become more balanced, but in many areas it remains difficult to retain IT staff due to the compressed salary structures of colleges and universities. Further, recent graduates are unfamiliar with legacy programming languages. To close this gap of technical needs and available talent, some institutions have established internal development programs to ensure a steady supply of interested and trained IT professionals. Others have purchased packaged systems and rely on external consultants to lead implementation efforts.

主要因素之一，会是学校吸引和留住合格的信息技术人才的能力。近年来，信息技术专业人才的供求日趋平衡，但是在许多地区，仍然很难留住信息技术员工，因为高等院校的工资结构偏低。此外，刚毕业的新人不熟悉遗留下来的编程语言。要填满技术需求与实际人才数量之间的缺口，一些教育机构建立起内部的开发计划，确保能稳定支持兴趣，并训练信息技术专业人才。其他教育机构购买系统软件包，并依赖于外部顾问来领导安装部署工作。

Matching institutional practice with technical features is another decision point; most likely there will be a mismatch. Should institutional practice match the capabilities of the IT system, or should custom IT solutions be developed to meet the service needs? With the former, changing the institutional culture is at best difficult, and at worst divisive. With the latter, the institution loses the leverage of maximizing future system growth and enhancements unless corresponding modifications are made to custom software modifications. There are more than 3,600 colleges and universities in the United States. Even if grouped by similar size, mission, and objectives, perspectives on the delivery of student systems are diverse. Individual institutions differ on student expectations, learning environments, academic and administrative policies, academic advising, and the role of faculty governance. The combination results in a high degree of uniqueness among institutions. Well-designed vendor-supplied student services recognize these variables and make some provisions for flexibility. Yet, there are practical limitations on the flexibility of any software.

教育机构的实践和技术特征相匹配，是另一个判定点，大多数情况下都会弄错。机构的实践是否应该与信息技术系统相匹配，或者是否应该开发自己的信息技术解决方案来满足服务需求？如果是前者，那么改变教育机构的文化，最好的情况也有无数困难，最坏的情况会导致分崩离析。如果是后者，那么教育机构会丢失促进未来机构成长并增强到最大的杠杆，除非随着变化对自己开发的软件做出相应修改。美国有超过三千六百所高校。即使按照大小、学科、教学目标来分类，对于如何交付学生服务系统，其看法也是各式各样的。每个教育机构都对于学生、学习环境、学术与行政政策、学术建议、教师的管理任务等，有不同的期望。组合起来就导致了院校之间的高度惟一性。供应商提供的设计良好的学生服务，能够识别这些变化，并采取一些灵活措施。然而，任何软件的灵活性都有其实际局限。

Another decision involves the current IT infrastructure, including databases, enterprise-wide servers, midtier servers, authentication and authorization services, e-commerce support, Web development, data warehouse capabilities, and help desk availability. Are the multiple campus systems interfaced to greater or lesser degrees? Does the institution have common or varied business practices for admission, financial aid disbursement, and grade reporting? These business process and IT components combine to provide a launch point for the future development of student services.

另一项决定涉及当前的信息技术基础设施，包括数据库、企业级服务器、中小型服务器、身份验证与授权服务、电子商务支持、网页开发，数据仓库能力，以及相应的技术支持。多个校园系统在多大程度上连接在一起？该教育机构对于入学、财政援助支付、成绩报告，是否有相同或不同的业务流程？这些业务流程和信息技术组件结合在一起，为学生服务的进一步发展提供了起跑的动力。

Success Depends on People and Culture

成功依靠人与文化

Nearly a decade ago, Penn State began moving toward a new way of processing applications for admission. The traditional glossy view-book and multipage paper application were replaced with electronic versions. This effort initially involved technologies that are now obsolete. As the Web emerged, the development process quickly migrated to its current technology base.

将近十年前，宾州大学开始实施一项新的入学登记处理程序。传统有着光滑纸张的，书籍一样有很多页的申请书，已经被电子版本取代。这项工作一开始使用的技术现在已经过时。随着网络的出现，开发过程很快转移到现在的技术上。

When this initiative began in the mid-1990s, the goal was to receive at least 80 percent of all applications electronically before the year 2000. Although not reached by 2000, the goal has since been surpassed. The goal may have been too aggressive, but not from a technology perspective. Adequate technology was available, and the new application process was far superior to the traditional paper-based one. The reason the goal was not reached had little to do with technology, but it had a lot to do with people. When a Penn State prospect sought advice from a high school counselor, the counselor would advise the prospect to contact Penn State and request a copy of the admission application. When the prospect asked for parental advice, the response was to complete a traditional paper application. If an interested prospect called the admissions office and asked for an application, the response was that an application would be mailed. These responses reflected tradition. It took a concerted effort to change the culture away from a paper-based mentality, enabling the goal to be reached.

当九十年代中期开始这项工作的时候，目标是在二〇〇〇年之前至少处理百分之八十的电子申请。这一目标也许过于激进，但不是从技术的角度得出的。只要有充足的技术，那么新的申请过程远比传统基于纸张的方式占优。没有达到这一目标，技术有一点点原因，但主要原因都跟人有关。当宾州大学潜在顾客向高中辅导员寻求建议的时候，辅导员建议学生联系宾州大学，拿一本入学申请。当学生问及家长的建议时，回答是完成一份传统的纸张申请书。如果有兴趣的学生致电招生办，索取申请书，答复是将会寄出申请书。这些答复反映了传统。新的申请过程需要在各个方面努力，改变文化，摆脱离不开纸张的心态，从而实现目标。

Technology provides the ability to dramatically improve the delivery of student services, yet it can be intimidating—a source of fear, uncertainty, resistance, and avoidance. Such emotions and responses cannot be ignored. To realize the effectiveness and efficiencies of technological change, attention must be focused on the larger context of these services and the constituents involved with the change. After all, it's not about technology!

技术为显著改善学生服务提供了能力，然而技术也会成为威胁——恐惧、不确定性、抵抗、逃避的源头。这些情绪和反应不容忽视。为了实现效益和技术变革的效率，必须把注意力集中在更大的服务环境，和改变所设计的组成部分。毕竟，这跟技术无关。

Conclusion

结论

The need to provide improved student support services has never been greater. In recent years, the cost of higher education has continued to increase, often outpacing other economic indicators. As tuition increases, external pressures from students, parents, legislators, and alumni to contain costs mount. At the same time, Net Generation students expect improved and comprehensive services from the academy.

需要提供更好的学生支持服务这种需求从未有这么多。近年来，高等教育成本不断增加，常常超过其他经济指标。随着学费的增加，来自学生、家长、立法者、校友的压力开始控制成本上升。同时，网络世代学生希望学校能够改善并提供全面的服务。

The availability of technological solutions for student services has never been greater. The plethora of enterprise-wide solutions, outsourcing opportunities, and on-campus development tools provide a wide range of options for the design and deployment of responsive student services.

为学生服务提供的技术解决方案也从未有这么多。过多的企业级解决方案、外包机会、校园开发工具，为设计部署学生服务，提供了广泛的选择。

Although the delivery of student services is not about technology, it is about using technology wisely. The use of technology requires a strong partnership between service providers and technologists. The Net Generation's expectations for student services are high and rising. The opportunities for us to respond to—and even exceed—these expectations are equally boundless.

虽然提供学生服务跟技术无关，跟如何聪明的运用技术有关。使用技术需要服务提供商和技术人员之间建立起强有力的伙伴关系。网络世代对学生服务的期待很高，而且不断升高。应对甚至超越这些期待，为我们带来的机会也同样无穷无尽。

About the Author

关于作者

J. James Wager currently serves as assistant vice provost for enrollment management and university registrar at The Pennsylvania State University. He provides oversight for all academic records and associated activities for the university's 80,000-plus student enrollment at 24 campuses across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, leadership on enrollment management, and deployment of student system applications. Wager also spends time in the classroom teaching management courses and is a member of the university's faculty senate. He has been an active member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), presenting numerous papers at annual and regional meetings and serving on various committees. Wager serves as a board chairman of the Registrars of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and was the program coordinator of its Summer Institute in Aspen. He has been an advocate for the delivery of student services using technology. Wager holds a bachelor's in management with a minor in information systems and an MPA in public administration.

詹姆斯·韦杰，目前担任宾州大学招生办副主任助理、大学注册员。他负责管理全部学术记录以及学校遍及整个宾夕法尼亚州的二十四所校园八千多名学生的共同注册活动，领导招生工作，部署学生系统应用程序。韦杰也承担教学任务，教授管理课程。同时是学校教师评议会成员。他一直是美国大学登记员及入学干事协会（AACRAO）的活跃成员，在年鉴和地区会议上发表若干论文，并任职于若干协会。韦杰担任美国高校协会（AAU）登记员分会董事长，曾担任阿斯彭暑期研究所计划协调员。一直提倡利用技术提供学生服务。韦杰是管理学学士，辅修信息系统，还是公共管理硕士。

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/EducatingtheNetGeneration/SupportServicesfortheNetGenera/6066