New, dazed and confused - Student TechAssist in the Library - students helping students to navigate the first few weeks at University.

When you are new, dazed and confused universities are complex and often scary, overwhelming places.
Deakin University Library recognised an opportunity to improve student experience by eliminating a pain point by helping students to get started on the various systems, platforms and technical requirements needed to begin their studies. What better way to do this than by providing a peer-to-peer dedicated program to assist with this onboarding. The friendly and well-trained Library Student Assistants (LSAs) have firsthand experience with Universities digital and learning environments and understand completely how confusing this can all seem. The TechAssist Service is a pop-up service point that operates over Orientation week and the first few weeks of the trimester at all the campus libraries throughout Victoria. The library provides unique non-disciplinary, much-loved locations with staff available over extensive opening hours. During the2024 pilot period the Student TechAssist service received 2060 enquiries with a resolution rate of over 80%. The unresolved questions were referred onto other services which resulted in a decrease in lower-level enquiries to the IT Service and is evidence of the successful collaboration in triaging first tier IT enquires and ensuring smooth referral pathways between multiple areas of the University. 
Collaboration was key to getting the Student TechAssist service operational for Trimester 1, 2024. The library partnered with colleagues from IT Customer CX Hub and  Deakin’s Digital Learning unit, to create both in person and online training sessions for the LSA teams across four campus libraries. It was also important to work together to define and agree on the scope of the service, referral touchpoints, evaluation criteria, and feedback mechanisms and post-service review.  Through the implementation of Student TechAssist, the library has been able to improve students' confidence and competence with technology, which is crucial for academic success. The Student TechAssist team members who delivered the service reported that they rated the value of the service to students at 9.15 out of 10. They also reported that they found personal benefits in delivering the service, in areas such as problem solving, communication, teamwork and problem solving.