A/V and Video Conferencing Policies

College of Medicine & Division of Media and Technology

This document outlines the service level agreement (SLA) between the Division of Media and Technology and the College of Medicine for the provision of audio / visual (A/V)[1] support services.

3.1. Service Quality

The College of Medicine values the many contributions of its faculty and staff and is committed to supporting their efforts through the provision of professional A/V support services. Technicians are representatives of the College and as such are expected to conduct themselves at the highest level of professionalism.

3.2. Scope

• Service Type: Audio visual and video conferencing equipment service, support and training.
• College Hours (core hours): 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Locations: Health Sciences, St Andrews, RUH, (West Winds, Regina, PA, City Hospital and St Paul’s Hospital)[4]. See 4.1.3 for policies relating to travel.
• Customers: Faculty, staff affiliated with the College of Medicine (researchers, full and part time faculty, clinicians, guests3.3. Services:

3.3.1. A/V Support (Technician’s responsibilities)

• Provide Media cart needed (LCD projector, laptop, document camera, media player, internet, overhead…)
• Equipment delivery, set-up and configuration
• On-call support (within core hours)
• Orientation and training as needed
• The customer can expect the technician to coordinate and manage the delivery, set-up and debugging of audio visual equipment and subsequent tear-down and removal. 

NOTE: Due to the excessive demands on the technician’s time during peak periods (typically between classes) technicians will provide orientation in special cases (eg. visiting lecturers). The onus is on the customer or host (departmental representative) to arrange for training during non-peak hours.

3.3.2. Video Conference Support (Technician’s responsibilities)

• End point coordination
• Equipment delivery & set-up
• On-call support (within core hours)
• Orientation and training as needed
• Camera operator is available on request for conferences of 10 or more local participants.
• The customer can expect the technician to coordinate meetings, room bookings, end points and manage the set-up and debugging of video conferencing equipment.
• Meetings exceeding 10 local participants may request the services of an operator. Provided there is capacity, an operator will be made available. Departments are encouraged to manage operation of the camera through internal resources with training. Effort will be made to educate and train departmental / administrative staff. See section 4.4.3. 3.4. Booking (Customer responsibilities)
• Room booking and scheduling are the responsibility of the customer
• Equipment, service bookings must be handled through the HSc online booking tool (http://www.usask.ca/medicine/ITU/bookings/) and the U of S resource scheduling system (R25) when it becomes available.
• Venue / room booking and scheduling are the responsibility of the customer. Allowance of ½ hour for set-up and ½ hour tear-down are required.
• Audio visual equipment - requires at least 24 hr advance notice
• Video Conferencing equipment - requires at least 72 hr advance notice
• Video conferences with 10 or more local participants may request the support of a camera operator, if available. Availability is determined on a first come first serve basis.
• Presenters are strongly encouraged to seek training / orientation during non-peak hours (between classes). Arrangements can be made through DMT or ES&D. 3.5. Staffing
• Two FTE to be provided 12 months of the year (Tech I). See section 6.0
• Hours requested beyond the 2.0 FTE provided must be approved by the College. These hours must be tracked and reported on a per incident basis and billed monthly.
• Staffing schedules may be adjusted to accommodate a broader range (overlapping schedules) of service hours.

3.6. Escalation

• Urgent requests or requests that occur within the minimum booking time (24hrs for A/V and 72hrs for Video Conferencing - see section 3.4) will be dealt with on a priority basis provided prior commitments are met OR alternate plans made.
• After hours requests are handled through DMT at <966-4263> from: o 8am to 10pm o Monday - Thursday o September to April
• Request for service after hours are subject to availability.

3.7. Training / Education

All customers (users) are encouraged to become self sufficient with the technology where possible.

• Customers are to be trained / oriented to use the equipment whenever possible. Opportunities for non-peak hours training / orientation will be identified by the technician and the customer.
• Pre-event orientation may be required.
• Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) sheet(s) and set-up sheet(s) are to be provided with the equipment (with support numbers). FAQ and set-up sheets will be made available to all end points via the web.
• Best practices document to be developed and published online.

3.8. Conflicts

Issues arising from the provision of service are the shared responsibility of the College and DMT and both parties agree to make every effort for reconciliation through a collaborative process. Conflicts / issues arising through the provision of service are to be resolved collaboratively. As required, unresolved issues are to be escalated to the Director of DMT and Director IT (CoM). Customers with issues or needs exceeding the service described in this document are to be referred to the Director of IT.

4.1.1. Priorities:

In general the priorities are based on a first come first serve basis. However when scheduling/resource availability conflicts arise, sound judgment is to be exercised in cooperation with the conflicting parties. As required, the Director of IT. Requests for additional capacity are to be approved by the Director of IT.

4.1.2. Reporting

• DMT to provide reconciled monthly reports to the Director of IT on the usage of A/V and VC’ing equipment drawn from the R25 and Video Conferencing Scheduler:

Monthly Reports are to Include[5]:

• Frequency and type of A/V requests (Qty, size, type, date and times)
• Frequency and type of VC’ing requests (Qty, size, date and times, program name, end points, assistance type)
• Issues and deficiencies in equipment or service levels

For quality assurance purposes, feedback will be solicited from customers, through online surveys.\

4.1.3. Travel

Travel must be approved by the College and will be reimbursed according to U of S guidelines. http://www.usask.ca/fsd/guidelines-procedures/travel_expense/body.htm