If the need does not yet justify the cost of using an 800 line, a regular phone line will suffice. Either service should have voice mail capabilities when a staff person is unavailable. Scope of Services Offered. Every decision accociated with implementing a Help Line will be directly related to the scope of the services offered. At a minimum a Help Line should provide information on scheduled courses, program advisement, registration, and how to get books and other course materials.
Technical assistance is also important, especially if classes are being offered online.
An administrator must plan ahead to determine how much information the Help Line will be able to provide directly and how many inquiries may have to be referred to another campus offices. Collaboration with other institutional information resources will certainly be a necessity in either case. Some Help Lines actually work as liasons between the students and their professors. In this way, students call in for assignments, set up appointments at proctored testing sites, and leave messages for the instructor. The hours of operation will depend directly on the demand to be met.