RTA Position Description

Objectives

   1.To Support the goals of the DirectConnect program as well as those of the Residence Life Office, the Division of Student Affairs and The University of Montana.
   2. To Serve as consultants to UM residents and the Division of Student Affairs for technological issues.
   3. To Assist Residence Hall and Lewis and Clark Village occupants with computer technology, cable television, and telephone systems.

Specific Duties

1. Involvement as an active member of both Residence Hall and DirectConnect Office staff.
2. Assisting the coordination and supervision of Volunteer Technology Assistants (VTAs) at the beginning of the school year.
3. Training and educating residents in the use and maintenance of their computers, DirectConnect (the contracted Internet Service Provider), DCO provided software, and Residence Hall lab PCs.
4. The facilitation of computer technology use as an educational resource by offering workshops in Residence Halls and providing advice informally when needed.
5. Maintaining weekly office hours at the DirectConnect office in 014 Elrod Hall and evening on-call hours within assigned residences to assist all occupants with technology issues.
6. Maintaining an approved appointment sign-up system for students to receive in-room assistance during your required nights on duty.
7. Monitoring and maintaining the functionality of Residence Life computer labs.
8. Troubleshooting and completing cable television and wall port work orders and providing assistance with problems related to the cable television system in Residence Life housing, including replacing wall plates and possibly cable, ethernet, or phone jacks.
9. Troubleshooting and completing telephone work orders and providing assistance with problems related to the telephone system.
10. Utilizing campus resources to solve problems, answer questions, and refer problems to appropriate individuals if the RTA cannot achieve a solution.
11. Attending weekly dorm staff meetings and weekly RTA staff meetings as well as in-services as deemed necessary.
12. Attending mandatory pre-semester training which begins about three weeks before fall semester classes and one week before spring semester classes.
13. Establishing and overseeing a DirectConnect bulletin board in assigned hall(s); keeping all information up-to-date and accurate; providing weekly updates and continuing information to keep the board fresh and readable; making copies of all residence hall postings available to the RTA Media Team.
14. Reporting known or suspect abuses of computing / technology resources to the Manager of IT.
15. Maintaining open communication with the Residence Life Office staff and suggesting improvements for DirectConnect program and other technology within Residence Life and the Division of Student Affairs.
16. The provision of work / duty logs to the RTA Coordinators on a weekly basis.
17.  Accurate, detailed, and daily timecard updating.
18.  Other related duties as necessary.

• The RTA must be available to assist students outside of their office hours on a “reasonable availability basis” while balancing their personal time, study time, and classes.  Lack of appropriate availability may necessitate more formal procedures.
•  The RTA shall not be absent from campus for more than three weekends per semester. The RTA Coordinators or other supervisors must authorize any absence from campus longer than three (3) days.

Teams

Each RTA may also participate in the following teams (participation in the Departmental Support and Mechanic teams is mandatory):

RTA Media Team

Duties

• Management of the the DirectConnect Office’s internal cable channel: the Dorm Edutainment Network (DEN).
• Posting, editing, and managing announcement slide shows and any video footage.  This includes both creating slides with given information as well as posting slides provided by sources outside the DirectConnect Office.
• Selecting content for the DEN’s video nights.
• Writing articles for and maintaining The 404, the DirectConnect print newsletter for Residence Life.
• Maintain the DirectConnect website.
• Creating and distributing flyers for DCO-related Residence Hall topics to be posted in Residence Life housing and on the RTA bulletin boards.

RTA Departmental Support Team

Duties

• Maintaining weekly contact with assigned departments within the Division of Student Affairs. These hours will be determined in consultation with the Information Technology Specialist at the start of the semester.
• Responding to technical support requests from departmental staff within 24 hours of receipt.
• Troubleshooting and repairing, or otherwise addressing, technical issues for Student Affairs users, prioritizing requests via the CASS IT Request system.

RTA System Administrator Support Team

Duties

• Assisting with the maintenance and support of Student Affairs print servers.
• Monitoring the Student Affairs antivirus server and alerting relevant parties in the event of viral activity.
• Assisting in the management of the Citrix server, which hosts Student Affairs labs and kiosks.
• Using administrative tools such as the Citrix Management Console and Windows Remote Desktop to help users troubleshoot issues.

RTA Machine Team

Duties

• Implementing a resident machine check-in system, keeping accurate records of any modifications or adjustments made to resident machines, while ensuring that residents receive their machines back in a timely fashion. This system will be well known and standardized among all RTAs for maximum efficiency.
• Troubleshooting and diagnosing resident machines, repairing if necessary. Machines may have any number of problems or other issues prohibiting their operation. The RTA Machine Team must determine the problem out of a wide variety of mal-ware, viruses, faulty OS, hardware issues, and user configuration errors. After the problem is detected, team members will either repair, or advise and refer the resident to an appropriate entity when repair is not possible.
• It is also the responsibility of the Machine Team to stay in touch with the online security community and up-to-date on mal-ware / virus threats as they appear.

RTA Internal Programming Team

Duties

• Creation, maintenance and upgrading of software for internal use by RTAs and other DirectConnect Office staff.
• Creation, maintenance and upgrading of software for external use by customers.
• Continual streamlining of the DirectConnect Signup Process, including software distributed to residents and the account management software.

Position Specifics

Duration

The term of position runs during the academic year from approximately three weeks before the start of fall semester classes until the closing day of the residence halls after spring semester. Positions will be renewed on a yearly basis depending on program objectives and the individual performance of the RTA.  RTAs will receive information regarding re-hiring for the subsequent academic year before the end of spring semester.

Compensation

Each RTA will work 22 hours per week and shall be compensated with an award to cover a residence hall room in the assigned building and a campus meal plan. The total amount of compensation will be reflected as a schedule bill credit to be equally disbursed each semester.  Applicants must contact the Financial Aid Office to determine the impact on their financial aid. In addition, hours worked past 22 per week will be paid at an hourly rate. Voicemail and an in-room phone for local calls will be provided free of charge to the RTA.

Hiring and Conditions of Employment

RTA hiring for the upcoming academic year will typically occur before the end of spring semester. Related experience, ability to perform the tasks contained within this job description, and availability are taken into consideration. RTAs must be enrolled as full time students, but limit their course work to a maximum of 18 credit hours (12 credit hours for graduate students) and maintain at least a cumulative grade point average of 2.25.  The RTA must complete at least 12 undergraduate or 9 graduate credits each semester. Staff members who do not perform according to the standards outlined in this document may be terminated.

The RTA may not secure or retain other assistantships or part-time employment without consent of the Residence Life Office.  Total hours worked may not exceed 39 hours per week.

Training

Training provided by the Manager of IT, RTA Coordinators and Information Technology Central (ITC) will lay a foundation of knowledge for the RTA to work productively in the position. RTAs are required to attend intensive training sessions each semester to occur approximately one week before the opening day of residence halls. On-going training will take place at regular RTA staff meetings and in-service training sessions.

Attitude and Commitment Requirements

   1. Cooperating with other RTAs, Residence Hall staff, and University staff in the Division of Student Affairs in decision-making and problem resolution.
   2. Displaying a positive attitude by demonstrating initiative, dependability, and responsibility.
   3. An awareness of being a representative of the University both on and off campus.
   4. Constant self-education on new technologies, software, etc. through classes, training sessions, workshops, and independent research.
   5. A positive, courteous, and helpful attitude toward students, visitors, and staff.  A pleasant and professional attitude should be evident while assisting residents with problems.
   6. Patience. A question that an RTA may feel is obvious or “stupid” is important to the person asking it. Be professional!
   7. At no time should you provide assistance while under the influence of alcohol or other substances. Doing so will result in automatic termination of the position.
   8. As a staff member, an RTA must be a positive role model. Behavioral issues or failure to abide by the Student Conduct Code will result in review and possible termination.
   9. The only acceptable reasons for missing scheduled meeting and/or appointments are illness or other acceptable emergencies. Please contact the Manager of IT or RTA Coordinators if you have an appropriate reason.

Student Property

   1. A resident must be present at all times when an RTA is in a student’s room for a consultation. When working in residents' rooms, the RTA must keep the door open at all times.
   2. When assisting with software problems, talk the student through the solution rather than doing it for them.
   3. Guidelines for the proper scope of assisting residents with their computer will be discussed more fully and developed as needed.