Fall 2016 has seen some exciting changes within Wharton Computing. Starting with the 2016–2017 academic year, we have restructured our organization to better serve the strategic goals of the School. The Strategic Partnerships team was created with our key clients in mind: students, faculty, and staff. Strategic Partners (SPs) focus on understanding the challenges their clients face and developing solutions in consultation with Wharton Computing and outside affiliates.
As its name implies, Student Strategic Partnership—the team I lead—sees you as our partners in the evolution of our services. Our team is working to establish clear communication channels between Wharton Computing and students to ensure that our technology offerings meet your needs and support Wharton’s overarching vision.
We are dedicated to understanding how technology can enhance and potentially improve the student journey. We use year-round engagement and research to advocate for student technology needs today with an eye to the future. Our outreach includes:
- Survey and Analysis: Using formal student surveys, peer school surveys, and industry research to identify changing technology needs and trends; generating reports and publishing findings from the data to share with key departments.
- Focus Groups and Outreach: Hosting virtual and live student focus groups each semester to identify unique student needs.
- Pilots and Monitoring: Running pilots to evaluate new technology, monitor continuous improvement cycles, and develop upgraded plans based on feedback and research.
- Education Initiatives: Educating students to take full advantage of the IT environment for academic success through lunch and learns and orientation classes.
To be successful, we must maintain a strong commitment to active communication using media like this very blog post. Working together, we both gain strength and deliver superior outcomes—a win-win that benefits us all.
Let’s keep the conversation going! Feel free to tweet @whartonsupport, send us an email (support@wharton.upenn.edu), or drop by the Student Support Center in 114 Steinberg-Dietrich!
Alex Milne leads the Student Strategic Partnership team. He is a Wharton Computing veteran with a long list of accomplishments here and at his previous role at Harvard University.
Erin Murphy is a long-time contributor to Wharton Computing, providing exhaustive research, analysis, and development work.