Who is supported by the Help Desk?

 Faculty, staff, students, or others who conduct university-related business consistent with the university mission and policies.

 What does the HelpDesk Support?

 iT technical support staff at Saint Mary’s University of MN, coordinated through the HelpDesk, provide the following services:

• Troubleshoot user account and password processes.
• Support and troubleshoot classroom technology.
• Troubleshoot network problems.
• Install, manage, and troubleshoot hardware and software that support the mission of the university.
• Troubleshoot malicious software (e.g. viruses, worms, Trojans, etc.).
• Provide consultation for purchases.

 Customer Responsibilities when Making a Request.

Callers should contact the HelpDesk while in front of the affected equipment. When calling, please be prepared to supply the following information:

• Complete contact information (User ID, first and last name, department, phone number, building and room number). 
• A clear and specific description of the problem or request. 
• Customers may be asked to check connections, power on/off devices and gather additional information. Detailed information provided by the customer will expedite the problem resolution.

 Call Procedures and Response Times

The HelpDesk treats all calls as important. iT staff is committed to resolving all reported problems in a timely fashion. The caller may be asked to verify his or her affiliation with the University. When the HelpDesk Technical Assistant and customer initially determine the customer’s need, the HelpDesk Technical Assistant will enter the incident into a tracking database, give the caller a HelpDesk incident number, and attempt to resolve the problem. 

 If first level resolution is not possible, the HelpDesk Technical Assistant escalates the incident to second level support staff, based on priority:

a) Assign the request to a second level technician, who will review the call and contact the customer to schedule an appointment.
b) Call an appropriate second level technician to address an immediate need; second level technicians will make their best efforts to resolve calls assigned to them in a timely manner.

 * The customer may call the HelpDesk at any time to request an update on the status of his or her unresolved calls, and to request more immediate assistance if necessary.

 What Customers can Expect from our Technicians

• To resolve calls assigned to them in a timely manner.
• To log updates into the customer's HelpDesk incident report.
• To verify resolution satisfaction with the customer.

 Responding to the Customer

Customers typically should receive an initial response within 24 hours.

An initial response will generally take the form of a return call or email to the customer. This response will be used to confirm the existence of the problem and gather additional information. Technicians will use this response as an opportunity to establish an estimated time when work on a resolution will begin.

If the customer is not available, a voicemail, email or physical message will be left. If the user does not respond, within five business days, the incident report will be closed.

A problem will be considered resolved when a solution or a workaround that is acceptable to both the client, and the HelpDesk, has been implemented.

 Call Escalation

 In the event that a customer has not received a response within the target response time they should call the HelpDesk and ask to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor will personally follow up on the call to determine its status.