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(Originally posted and distributed in May 2022)

Transition of Event Support Service

School of Medicine IT is no longer providing on-site support at the start of events.

This change comes at a point of transition for our school and School of Medicine IT. Significant investments of time and funding have enabled us to properly upgrade our classroom and conference spaces. This has had the result of making technology in our general access spaces much more user friendly and enabling effective remote support. This has intersected with an increase in service offerings being provided to the school including the formalization of our Instructional Technology Support and Major Events services.

Please review the FAQs and resources below to assist you in planning for your needs for next academic year.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)


The Event Support service previously existed out of necessity. Technology in the general access spaces did not always work properly and was outdated. This sometimes resulted in workarounds needing to be implemented by technicians to get things going in spaces. Additionally, equipment between spaces varied significantly making it hard for users’ knowledge of one space to transfer to the use of another space. Another major issue was that prior to the purchase of Zoom and Webex, intervention from our staff was required to conference using software that wasn’t available to the public.

A significant investment of money and time has been executed over the past five years to be able to create a better experience for both users and the support staff, including:

  • The digital standardization of all general access spaces to provide a consistent user experience and eliminate many of the issues of compatibility with users’ laptops by providing both HDMI and Wireless Presentation options in most spaces.
  • Licensing of Webex for the School of Medicine and Zoom by ITS to provide self-service options for conferencing.
  • Updating touch panels in spaces to remove complexity and make them more user friendly.
  • Networking AV equipment to allow for remote access by our staff to provide remote support and minimize the time to resolve issues.

These improvements have made it such that onsite assistance from our support staff is not necessary for most use cases.


Our role as a support team is to ensure equipment is working properly, and to help you feel more comfortable with the technology that has been provided for you. Please see below for links to instruction guides and our schedule of AV equipment trainings. In addition, throughout the summer (or anytime), you can contact us to arrange for a room orientation ahead of your first event in a space to become comfortable using the equipment. 

If you run into issues during an event, you can contact our Classroom Support Hotline at 919-843-9086 for remote support during business hours. In cases where things cannot be resolved remotely, a technician can be dispatched to resolve your issue.


Some perceive that working with our staff to troubleshoot over the phone takes up precious time, and request that we immediately send support to the space. We strongly recommend against making this request and encourage you to work with the person taking your call to resolve your issue until they determine a dispatch is needed.

It can take between 5 and 15 minutes depending on availability of staff to have someone dispatched to a space with the size of the School of Medicine campus and limited staff available. By working with our support team over the phone, they can evaluate the issue , and hopefully resolve it in a very short span of time. If a dispatch does become necessary, the support staff from the phone can communicate the exact issue so that the person dispatched can arrive prepared with what is needed to resolve the issue.


It has always been the expectation that events and classes being coordinated by departments would have a representative present from their department to work with the guests. These representatives would be expected to be present to assist visitors with the use of the systems. If training is needed, users are invited to take part in one of the below scheduled training sessions or request a room orientation. If assistance is needed during an event, users can contact our Classroom Support hotline at 919-843-9086 during business hours.


If you run into problems, we encourage you to contact our hotline at 919-843-9086 for immediate assistance during business hours.

If you see recurring problems in the space, there are two potential possibilities. One possibility is that either the system is not being used in the best way for what is needed, or the space is not equipped to do what is needed. For this, we would recommend attending a training or room orientation to make sure you know exactly how things in the space are supposed to work.

The other possibility is that there is an issue in the space that has persisted but has not been brought to our team’s attention. We encourage users to report issues with equipment to our Classroom Support hotline at 919-843-9086 or by entering a support ticket from our site at https://go.unc.edu/ATS.

In addition to issues reported by users, rooms are scheduled to have A/V checked at least 3 times per semester with more thorough checks and repairs completed during the summer. During these checks, technicians operate the room in accordance with the room’s instructions to ensure that the controls operate as expected. Any irregularities are reported to Classroom Operations for repair.


Resources

Training Sessions

Please visit our IT Training portal for a schedule of training sessions. There are several Instructional Technology drop-in sessions for those wanting to learn the best ways to use the classroom technology for teaching and meetings. You may also request a room orientation for a specific room by entering a ticket.

Room Guides

Guides for how to use our space are available in the IT Training Portal. Instructional videos are available as well.

Major Events Service

Our team will provide consultation and technical support services for the planning and execution of major School of Medicine events that have a significant technical element that training would not be a feasible alternative to. Provision of this service is at the discretion of ATS leadership, but in general, a major event is thought to be an infrequently occurring event where:

  • The scope of the event is significant within the school (ex. Something that applies across large populations of staff, students, and/or faculty such as a convocation)
  • The event reflects the school’s appearance in the public eye (ex. A professional conference or program with a large audience beyond UNC affiliates)
  • The event is a significant milestone in the educational program (ex. New Student Orientation, Graduation, White Coat)
  • The event is related to a major schoolwide communication or fundraising effort (ex. alumni events, awards ceremonies)

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about these changes, please use this contact form.

To arrange a room orientation, report issues in a space, or request assistance with the classroom technology, please enter a support request at https://go.unc.edu/ATS or call 919-843-9086.