Technical Support Services

At SUNY Oneonta

Mission Statement

Technical Support personnel at the College at Oneonta provide assistance in information delivery, problem management, and technical troubleshooting for recommended hardware and supported software packages for the college. The Information Technology Help Desk is the central point of contact for all the technology and computer-related questions affecting the accomplishment of the mission of the State University College at Oneonta.

Introduction

The resolution of technical problems is a collaborative process between the user and technical support personnel. This document outlines what the user can expect when calling the Help Desk for assistance, and how the user can assist in the resolution of the problem.

Help Desk Hours of Operation

Normal Hours of Operation:

Monday – Thursday 8:00AM – 11:00PM

Friday 8:00am – 9:00PM

Saturday 12:00pm – 9:00PM

Sunday 12:00pm – 11:00PM

Breaks and Intersession

Monday – Friday 8:00AM – 4:30PM

Saturday Closed

Sunday Closed

Summer Hours

Monday – Thursday 8:00AM – 8:00PM

Friday 8:00am – 4:30PM

Saturday Closed

Sunday Closed

Arrangements can be made in advance for support at other times.

How to Contact the Help Desk

There are three ways to contact the Help Desk:

• Phone: Call 436-4567
• E-mail: helpme@oneonta.edu
• Walk in: Schumacher Basement Room B12.

Critical or very important requests should always be communicated directly to the Information Technology Help Desk by phone or in person.

Who is supported?

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

What do we support?

Members of the technical support staff at the College at Oneonta, coordinated through the Help Desk, will provide the following services:

• Install, manage and troubleshoot hardware and software that supports the mission of the College.
• Troubleshoot network problems
• Troubleshoot malicious software (e.g. viruses, worms, Trojans, etc.)
• Provide web authoring support
• Provide consultation for purchases
• Troubleshoot user account and password problems
• Answer dialup access questions
• Provide general consultation
• Support and troubleshoot classroom technology

Responsibilities of Those Making a Request

Callers should contact the Help Desk 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 Help Desk treats all calls as important and will make its best effort to resolve all reported problems in a timely fashion. The caller may be asked to verify affiliation with the College. When the Help Desk Support Consultant and customer initially determine the customer’s need, the Help Desk Support Consultant will enter the call into the tracking database, giving the caller the Help Desk ticket number, and attempt to resolve the problem over the phone; If first level resolution is not possible then the Help Desk Support Consultant will a) assign the request to a second level technician, who will review the call and contact the customer to schedule an appointment; or 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 Help Desk at any time to request an update on the status of his or her unresolved calls, and to request more immediate assistance if necessary.

From the technician customers can expect:

• to resolve calls assigned to them in a timely manner
• to log updates into the database
• to verify resolution satisfaction

Responding to the Customer

Customers will receive an initial response within 24 hours (excluding weekends).

 An initial response will generally take the form of a callback 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 call ticket will be closed.

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

Escalation

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