This repository is the central support resource for Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) personnel who support students and faculty in IT 140 - Introduction to Scripting.
The repository provides role-specific guidance for:
Important
Start with the guide for your role. You are not expected to read the shared documentation first.
Role-specific guides link directly to the shared course information needed to complete each support task.
This repository follows one central documentation rule:
Shared facts are documented once. Role-specific responsibilities and procedures live under the role's directory.
Shared documentation provides canonical information about the course, supported environments, terminology, GitHub workflow, support boundaries, and escalation model.
Role-specific documentation:
- explains what a supporter should do;
- links directly to the relevant shared information at the point it is needed;
- avoids requiring supporters to discover or read the
shared/directory before beginning; - avoids duplicating shared facts that could become inconsistent over time.
| Role | Start Here | Primary Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty | Faculty Support Guide | Teaching, student support, course workflow, assignment support, and escalation |
| Learning Support Specialists (LSS) | LSS Support Guide | Student learning support, appropriate code assistance, course tools, and escalation |
| Academic Advisors | Advisor Support Guide | Course expectations, common student concerns, technology context, and referrals |
| IT Service Desk | Service Desk Triage and Escalation Runbook | Technical triage, diagnostics, safe remediation, evidence collection, and escalation |
This repository supports the IT 140 course environment and support workflows. It is not the authoritative source for graded activity requirements.
For graded assignments and projects:
- D2L Brightspace remains the authoritative source for activity requirements, submissions, grading, and instructor feedback.
- Student-facing GitHub repositories provide course tooling, templates, instructions, and supporting resources.
- Support personnel should not provide or publish complete solutions to graded assignments.
| Purpose | Repository |
|---|---|
| Main course hub and course IDE automation | GC-STEM/it140 |
| Module One setup tasks | GC-STEM/it140-m1-setup-tasks |
| Module Two assignment | GC-STEM/it140-m2-assignment |
| Module Three assignment | GC-STEM/it140-m3-assignment |
| Module Four assignment | GC-STEM/it140-m4-assignment |
| Projects One and Two and Module Six Milestone | GC-STEM/it140-projects |
it140-support/
├── README.md
├── .github/
│ ├── CHANGELOG.md
│ └── images/
├── shared/
│ ├── README.md
│ ├── course-overview.md
│ ├── course-repository-architecture.md
│ ├── terminology.md
│ ├── supported-environments.md
│ ├── github-workflow.md
│ ├── support-boundaries.md
│ └── escalation-model.md
├── faculty/
│ ├── README.md
│ ├── start-of-term.md
│ ├── setup-and-familiarization.md
│ ├── supporting-students.md
│ ├── assignments-and-grading.md
│ ├── github-and-repositories.md
│ ├── technical-issues-and-escalation.md
│ └── common-scenarios.md
├── lss/
│ ├── README.md
│ ├── orientation-and-familiarization.md
│ ├── workshops-and-office-hours.md
│ ├── learning-support-and-integrity.md
│ ├── github-and-course-tools.md
│ ├── resource-development.md
│ ├── referrals-and-escalation.md
│ └── common-scenarios.md
├── advisors/
│ ├── README.md
│ ├── course-expectations.md
│ ├── technology-context.md
│ ├── student-concerns.md
│ ├── referrals-and-routing.md
│ └── common-scenarios.md
└── service-desk/
├── README.md
├── triage.md
├── environment-troubleshooting.md
├── github-repository-troubleshooting.md
├── verification-and-logs.md
├── safe-remediation.md
└── escalation.md
Role-specific sections intentionally differ in size. A Service Desk runbook requires more technical procedures than an advisor guide; the repository does not force artificial symmetry across roles.
The shared/ directory contains information that applies to more than one support role.
| Shared Resource | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Shared Documentation Index | Index of canonical shared information |
| Course Overview | Course purpose, instructional context, and major technologies |
| Course Repository Architecture | Purpose and relationship of the IT 140 GitHub repositories |
| Terminology | Common IT 140 terms and abbreviations |
| Supported Environments | Supported course IDE environments and platform expectations |
| GitHub Workflow | Common GitHub and repository workflow used in IT 140 |
| Support Boundaries | Distinguishes technical support, learning support, instructional responsibilities, and advising |
| Escalation Model | Common escalation principles and evidence expectations |
Note
These pages are reference sources, not prerequisites. Role-specific documents should link to the exact shared page needed for a procedure.
Support guidance in this repository should follow these principles:
- Start from the supporter's role. Do not require supporters to learn the repository structure before they can help someone.
- Use the supported course workflow. Avoid generic troubleshooting steps that could move a student farther from the expected IT 140 environment.
- Preserve support boundaries. Technical troubleshooting, learning support, advising, and grading responsibilities are related but not interchangeable.
- Collect evidence before escalation. Escalations should contain enough information for the next support level to continue without restarting the investigation.
- Prefer links over duplication. When a fact is shared across roles, link to the canonical shared page.
- Keep instructions current. Update the canonical source when the course environment or workflow changes.
- Protect student privacy and academic integrity. Do not place sensitive information or complete graded-assignment solutions in public GitHub content.
Screenshots and other support images should be stored in:
.github/images/
Hidden screenshot placeholders may be retained where a future sanitized screenshot would materially improve a procedure. The surrounding text should remain usable without the image, so a placeholder is a maintenance cue rather than a publication blocker.
Example:
<!-- screenshot placeholder; show the IT 140 verification summary with the status and exit code visible -->Do not add screenshots merely for decoration. Screenshots should clarify navigation, expected output, a decision point, or information that a supporter must identify.
Because the IT 140 course environment and support procedures may change rapidly, this repository is intended to be maintained through normal GitHub version-control practices.
When updating documentation:
- change the canonical shared page when a shared fact changes;
- review role-specific pages that link to the changed information;
- avoid copying the revised fact into multiple role guides;
- update procedures when the supported course workflow changes;
- use pull requests for review when practical;
- record material documentation changes in CHANGELOG.md.
Do not post any of the following in public GitHub areas:
- passwords;
- authentication or multi-factor authentication codes;
- GitHub personal access tokens or other access tokens;
- private identifying information;
- confidential SNHU operational information;
- student submissions containing protected information;
- complete solutions to graded IT 140 assignments or projects.
Internal escalation routing, restricted administrative procedures, or security-sensitive information should remain in the appropriate SNHU internal system rather than this repository.
The core support architecture and all four role-specific sections are developed and have completed a cache-busted rendered integration review:
- shared canonical support documentation;
- IT Service Desk triage and escalation runbook;
- faculty support guide;
- LSS support guide; and
- Academic Advisor support guide.
Ongoing maintenance should focus on:
- adding sanitized screenshots only where they materially improve a support procedure;
- keeping restricted routing, queue, contact, and workflow details in the appropriate SNHU internal systems rather than this public repository; and
- updating canonical course facts and linked role procedures as the IT 140 environment evolves.
- Course: IT 140 - Introduction to Scripting
- Repository Name: IT 140 Support
- Primary Audience: SNHU faculty, Learning Support Specialists (LSS), academic advisors, and IT Service Desk personnel
- Repository Purpose: Provide canonical shared course-support information and role-specific support procedures for IT 140
- Development Status: Operational Documentation / Ongoing Maintenance