What are the responsibilities of an ITS/DSS lab assistant?
Besides enforcing lab rules, opening, closing, and ensuring the safety of lab equipment, lab assistants are also there to help users with software and hardware related questions. If the lab assistant doesn’t know the answer, they will try to help the user get to an answer by using manuals, help files, calling supervisors, or whatever necessary. We do not expect the lab assistant to have all the answers. We do expect them to help the user find a way to get the answer. In some instances, the lab assistant may need to refer the user back to their professor, because there are some applications or complicated uses of the application where the professor is the best resource. The lab assistant is NOT there to help users do their homework. There is a difference between assisting the user to find the answer and doing the work for them. In those cases, lab assistants are instructed to inform the user that they need to consult their professor for help.
