Chapter II
Training
CURRENT POSITION
A wide variety of training opportunities are offered within the university:
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the OIR Faculty Support Center offers training on Microsoft Office, Web authoring and use of a variety of multimedia instructional technology
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CIRCA, in cooperation with the Reitz Union Leisure Course Program, offers similar training
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University Personnel Services' General Training Program offers courses on a wide variety of management issues pertinent to university staff
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University Libraries offer training on the effective use of library materials and resources
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NERDC, in partnership with the Gartner Group, offers more than 300 computer-based training courses
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specialized training is often arranged within academic and administrative units
KEY ISSUES
As a university, one of our top priorities is education. It is the key to productivity and integrating new technologies into the university plan. Every area of computing requires education on existing systems, other connected systems and new technologies that affect our ability to function as the environment changes. We still have basic skills to learn. New technologies for both instructional and administrative applications are being introduced in the marketplace continuously. With our current level of commitment, our training efforts cannot keep pace.
Many technical positions within the university cannot be filled at current salary levels. Skill sets for today's web technology are more difficult and replacing the knowledge of long-time staff members is problematic and expensive.
Considerable overlap exists on available training within the university. At the same time, a number of critical areas are completely ignored. For example, a number of areas offer training on Microsoft Office products and limited web development. At the same time, little or no training is available on, for example, SAS, which is used quite extensively by graduate students and faculty.
Almost no local training is available for campus development groups. The current in-house training is informal, slow and time-consuming. Also, there is little opportunity for renewing skills or having access to an outside expert for advice and tricks of the trade.
The university lacks a common policy on technology proficiency and continuous training objectives. Some groups are highly trained; others lack basic skills.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In conjunction with the training objectives of the university, administrative and educational software standards should be established for such skills as:
Where possible, strategic partnerships should be developed with campus development groups and vendors to enhance the training mission of the university.
Pursue a change to personnel rules to allow a retention contract so we do not simply turn into a training facility for other organizations
Emerging technologies should be identified and training should be offered continuously for the skills required. Current and new employees should be trained and redirected as needed.
Campus development strategies need to be developed and training provided for the skill sets used in those strategies.
Identify lab locations for hands-on training and multimedia presentations.
Management training objectives should be established to:
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increase productivity at all levels of the university
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establish a common vision and mission
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encourage proactive planning
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increase employee satisfaction
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require minimum technical proficiency for all campus groups
In conjunction with management training, organizational development objectives should be established to guide management in:
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assessing resource deployment
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identifying goals and objectives
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creating a solution-oriented, project-based work environment
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offering certificates of competency for staff
A training philosophy should be adopted to:
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develop university-wide standards for technical and management training
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develop a strategy for offering individual, group, instructor-lead and computer-based training opportunities
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promote and encourage unified training efforts among UF's faculty, staff and students
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develop evaluation standards to assess technical proficiency
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coordinate and/or offer advanced training for individuals or groups
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develop and maintain a warehouse of training opportunities
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coordinate the development of a training database for tracking all training
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efforts and to make all students, staff and faculty aware of training availability
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evaluate new technologies and management ideology for maintaining an ongoing training plan
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develop key measures for assessing the success of the training strategies
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Chapter III |
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