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Keeping Students Informed

The Business

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is one of the ten largest in the UK with over 20,000 students on more than 400 full-time, part-time and distance learning courses. Over the past few years the city centre campus has undergone a £41 million building programme. The award-winning Adsetts Centre, which opened in 1996, is an impressive seven-storey building, designed to take the concept of the traditional university library into the 21st century.

The distinctive building brings together a broad range of related facilities under one roof. The Learning Centre (LC), as it is called, houses traditional printed materials, media materials, electronic databases, computer networks, media production facilities, a publishing house and the Learning & Teaching Institute. The building provides space for private and group study and offers state of the art lecture facilities.

With over 1600 study spaces, each IT compatible, the LC is equipped to keep today's - and hopefully tomorrow's - students at the forefront of contemporary learning and in step with the changing demands of the modern business world.

The Challenge

The LC sees its mission as contributing to the University's success by providing a high quality service that stimulates student learning and enhances the professional lives of academics. The University's Library Charter calls for "helpful and courteous communications with students" and a commitment to "respond to 75 per cent of enquiries immediately, and deal with specialist enquiries requiring referral within three working days". A tall order with around 10,000 students, or half the student population, visiting the LC each working day during term time and over 35,000 items borrowed each week.

Obviously, in the interests of good service and in keeping with their Charter, staff are keen to ensure that they are as helpful as possible. However, at the same time they are also aware that many of the "Frequently Asked Questions" could be fielded by a more efficient method, leaving them free to deal with more complex enquiries.
Simple notices would seem an obvious solution to the problem. However, the Adsetts Centre is open-plan, and consequently there are few walls on which to place posters. This, combined with the stringent fire regulations that are in force, means there is a strict 'no poster' policy.

The first attempt at overcoming the problem was not wholly successful, as Tom Savage, Technical Manager of the Learning Centre, explains, "In the past we had used a low technology television-based system. With an appearance akin to teletext, the image quality was fairly poor and the dull text-based screens were not well received by students used to more colourful graphic images. In addition, the system was not particularly user-friendly, which meant that those responsible for inputting the information were not keen on keeping it updated, which in turn exacerbated its lack of uptake."

Mr Savage continued, "We needed to find a relatively low-cost system that was easy to use and good to look at. At the end of the day we wanted something that would be useful to the students and that would help improve the flow of information."

The InStaNet Solution

The solution came in the form of a product developed by Interchange Group, the communications specialist. Interchange were already working at the University, having been called in to extend the University's existing broadband network to two new buildings, one of which was the Adsetts Centre.

The team carrying out the work told staff about an Interchange's InStaNet product developed to meet a similar communication need within large corporate operations. InStaNetuses a TV network to transmit a variety of information, combining images with a text overlay to create "magazines". The component "screens" are easily created using any of a variety of standard graphic software packages. The screens are then compiled into a schedule or "magazine" and transmitted from a central location. The information shown is tailored to suit the audience and can be timed so messages appear at specific times making it a convenient and efficient method of communication.

With the Interchange System's effectiveness proven in a number of blue chip organisations throughout the UK, the decision was taken to trial the product in the LC. For the pilot phase television monitors were placed at the three main information points within the LC. A working group with four staff from key areas was set up to oversee the project, each taking it in turn to act as "editor" for a month.

Linda Purdy, Senior Information Advisor - Media Services and a member of the working group, comments, "We were keen to avoid the pitfalls of the old system. We wanted to ensure the information transmitted was eye-catching and up to date. For maximum impact, we had the backdrops produced by our design team. Our aim was for the new system to be attractive and useful."

The magazine displays a range of messages covering opening hours, 'save to disk' and other computer related notices, details about service developments plus emergency notification about the network going down or to highlight problems with access to the Internet, etc.

The Benefits

Although it is still early days, the staff are convinced of the usefulness of Interchange's system and its contribution to the creation of a first class and up to date information and learning environment.
Linda Purdy said, "We didn't want a system that was onerous to use. With time at a premium, no one can afford to devote a lot of time to creating and updating the screens - The Interchange System is simple and quick."

The system's simplicity of use means it is kept current, removing one of the principle complaints about the old system.

InstNet creates a greater positive visual impact, attracting more attention and consequently is more suited to its intended purpose of disseminating information. It is not limited to a simple mix of graphics and text but offers greater flexibility though by its support of the inclusion of audio and video clips.

Extra cabling, and therefore cost, has been kept to a minimum as the system operates across an existing broadband network previously utilised by the computer network.

The broadband network is also used for foreign language television programmes, picked up by satellite, and broadcast to televisions in the Adsetts Centre and the Language Centre, part of the university's Business School. This service enables overseas students to keep in touch with news and events in their own country and means language students can increase their understanding of the language as used by native speakers.

The broadband network also facilitates internal video conferencing. For example, a professorial lecture given in one of the chemistry laboratories, where space was restricted, was relayed to a much wider audience in a 450-seat lecture theatre on the campus.

The Learning Centre's own television channel, LCTV, utilises the broadband network to broadcast a variety of course-related videos at the request of tutors. In addition, as part of an initiative to ensure students (and staff) have the opportunity improve their core business skills, the programming features videos on time management, presentation skills, etc. The service operates seven days a week, and a programme schedule compiled using the InStaNet ensures viewers are kept informed about upcoming presentations.

Conclusion

Tom Savage "By having key information readily accessible our aim is to make the Learning Centre as easy to use and as beneficial as possible. Using a system that has been adopted by many world class commercial organisations we can't go too far wrong".

With tight budget constraints, an overriding concern is that suppliers work closely with SHU to deliver the project on time and to budget. Tom Savage affirms, "We had no worries working with Interchange. We have a well-established relationship with the company through their support services for our existing broadband network. They know how the university operates and our confidence in them has been rewarded by the successful implementation of the pilot stage of the project."

The LCTV programme menu project was financed by proceeds from the Alumni Fund. Obviously, for the continued success of this type of fundraising it is useful to demonstrate that any money raised is put to good use. Contributors to the Fund have only to visit the Learning Centre and see the system in action to know that their contributions are being used for the benefit of the students and staff.

The system has now been expanded to the University's Collegiate Campus. Proof positive of SHU's commitment to delivering a high quality experience for their students and their confidence in the continued good service of Interchange.

For the future, it is planned to extend the system to include the PC network, using the sister product. This will enable the messages displayed on the TV monitors to be sent simultaneously to the PCs using the screen saver function and so directly to individual students.

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