How
Does the Help Desk Work?
Passwords the Help Desk is Able to Reset
Information the Help Desk Needs
General Information [top]
In the average day, the Help Desk receives approximately 200 calls requesting assistance.
When you call the Help Desk, you may wait in the hold queue until someone becomes available to take your call.
All calls are answered in the order they come in, as regulated by the phone system. Help Desk staff have no control over which calls they receive.
If you feel you cannot wait for the next available person, you always have the option of pressing 1 for the system status announcement, or 2 to go to the voicemail system.
Leaving a voicemail is a good alternative if you cannot wait on the phone. We have staff manning the voicemail system and try our best to get back to you within 15 minutes.
A very good alternative method of reaching the Help Desk, especially during busy hours, is via email. We have staff monitoring the Help Desk email, and try our best to reply or open a ticket within 15 minutes, during normal business hours of 8am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday.
What Happens to Your Call [top]
When you call 4-1145, you are put in line with all the other calls that are waiting for assistance. The phone system holds the calls in the order they were received.
If everyone is busy on other calls, you may have to wait on hold. As soon as any Help Desk Coordinator's phone line becomes available, the phone system sends the next call through.
It is our goal that no one be left on hold more than 5 minutes. But please understand that during downtimes or other very busy times, the wait may be longer.
Please do not try to "bypass the system" by calling the Help Desk Coordinators' direct phone numbers. Not only is this not fair to the people who are waiting their turn in line, but someone will have to be put on hold again in order to answer the 2nd call. Sometimes we are not able to answer the 2nd line at all.
When the Help Desk Coordinator answers the call, they will identify themselves and ask you for your badge number. They will quickly look through any open tickets you may have and ask you if this problem is related.
You will be asked to describe the problem.
There are several problem types that the Help Desk can often solve over the phone:
- Password resets for many systems (see list)
- Login issues/errors
- Account locks
- Disk space
- General questions/instructions for GroupWise, Word, Excel, Windows, etc
- Other issues that do not require a technician or LAN administrator to correct
If the Help Desk cannot resolve your issue over the phone, they will ask you for more information (see below) and send the ticket on to 2nd level support (Microprocessor Support Group). You will be asked to post the ticket number on the computer for easy identification by the technicians.
The Microprocessor Support Group will determine if a technician can resolve the problem, or if it needs to be sent on to another area for resolution.
When a ticket has been forwarded to a staff member, you should receive an email with this information. At that point, the Help Desk is no longer involved in the ticket. You can contact the person the ticket was assigned to either by email or by phone, the number should be listed in the Campus Web Directory or GroupWise Addressbook.
What Happens to Your Email [top]
Every email that comes in to HelpDesk is reviewed by one of the Help Desk Coordinators.
Sometimes the issue can be resolved easily with a return email from the Help Desk.
Some issues must be forwarded to 2nd level support. If all of the necessary information has been provided, a ticket can be opened and routed immediately. The Help Desk will email back if more information is needed.
Due to the nature of email and proxies, the Help Desk cannot issue passwords via email. Please call 4-1145 if you need a password reset.
Emails received at HelpDesk are also logged as tickets, even if the Help Desk resolves the issue via email.
Password Resets at the Help Desk [top]
| Novell | GroupWise | Meditech (Lab/Pharmacy) |
| Net Access | Stentor | Lawson |
| Wireless | Web Reports | Invision |
| Signature | CICS | Intranet Security Question* |
*The Intranet Security Question is used when enrolling for classes, changing information for your directory listing and Annual Compliance testing.
Information Needed [top]
- Employee Number
- Room Number/Location
- Phone Number
- UMC# from the computer or printer
- Exact Printer Type if printer-related problem (i.e. HP Laserjet 4050N, HP Deskjet 930C, etc)
- Print Location name if mainframe printing problem
- Operating System Version (i.e. Windows 98, NT, XP, etc)
-
Description of the problem (please avoid statements like "my computer doesn't work" as it does not describe what is wrong, where "my computer gives an error when I turn it on" is more helpful and including the error will expedite resolution)
- Depending on the issue type, other information may be required
Other Information [top]
Ticket Process (flowchart)
Escalation Process (what happens if the ticket is not resolved in a reasonable time frame)
Notification Process (emails to the client regarding the ticket) Flowchart