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The VCCU Customer Support Center would like to introduce its HELP DESK facility. Its purpose is to provide faster service to our users and to streamline the problem reporting process. By taking this structured approach to problem reporting and solving, we are better able to serve and inform our users.

WHAT IT IS
The Help Desk is a single point of contact for all of your technology-related problems or questions. It serves as a centralized reporting and referral system designed to dispense information, solve most minor problems immediately, and refer more complex problems to the appropriate support personnel as quickly as possible.

WHERE, WHEN, & WHO
The VCCU Customer Support Center based at VWCC houses the Help Desk. We offer extended coverage to accommodate as many users work schedules as possible.  Calls placed to us outside these hours/days are automatically routed to on-call staff via a voice mail paging system.

WHO SHOULD CALL THE HELP DESK

Each college in the VCCS has appointed a Customer Support Liaison or "CSL" to serve as an interface between the college and the VCCU Customer Support Center. A backup person for each college has also been designated. All problems that you encounter should be reported first to your CSL or their backup. (Please see VCCS Problem Management Model.)  The CSL will screen the problem and solve it at the college level if possible. If necessary, they will contact the CSC Help Desk. The Help Desk will work with your CSL and notify them upon resolution of the problem. If for some reason your CSL and their backup should both be absent from work at the same time, the Help Desk will serve as a secondary backup, and you may place a call directly in that instance.  
(In the case of problems at off-campus labs/classrooms, college personnel must be contacted first.  Offsite locations are supported by the college, and the Help Desk usually cannot effectively assist in troubleshooting without the CSL's participation and input.)

CALL HANDLING
When a call is placed to the Help Desk, it is logged into a special computer program for problem tracking and assigned a number. The Help Desk technician will be able to solve most problems and answer most questions immediately, and the call record can then be closed. If this is not the case, the problem will be escalated to the next level of support. This means that the Help Desk technician will pass the call on to someone on our support team who has additional expertise in the area of your problem.

SUPPORT LEVELS
You may encounter references to a support level when you are notified of the status of a particular problem or question. The Customer Support Center divides support into three levels as follows:

  • Level-1 consists of in-house Help Desk technicians who can give users an immediate response.
  • Level-2 means that the call has been passed up from the Help Desk to CSC technicians. Response time will vary depending upon the extent of the problem.
  • Level-3 comes into play when sources outside of the CSC must be consulted such as other Utility technicians or outside vendors. Response time is no longer under our control at this point in the process.

WHY SHOULD YOUR CSL CALL THE HELP DESK?
Many users may wonder why they should have their CSL call the Help Desk when they know a particular level-2 support person that can usually solve their problems. Here are several good reasons:

Immediate response is what you want. The Help Desk will usually be your fastest route to a solution. We can generally answer your question or correct your problem right away. If not, we know who will be available soonest to help you. If you call programmer X, who is already working on several urgent problems, you may end up on a waiting list, while someone else could have helped you right away.

The call is logged. Your problem will be recorded and assigned a number for reference. The call can't get lost, or fall through the cracks, because it has a definite identity. Call logging also helps to point out repetitive problems or similar problems that are being experienced by several different users. It also allows the Help Desk to route all calls relating to a particular issue to the same person every time. This ensures continuity in the solution process. It is not very efficient to have several support people unknowingly working on the same problem at the same time.

Call status is tracked. Call reporting is done on a daily basis. All unresolved problems are reviewed daily and weekly. If your call record continues to remain open past a certain period of time, it will be noted in review and may be assigned additional personnel.

WHEN TO CALL
You should call the Help Desk whenever you have a technology-related problem or question. Some examples of common calls might include:

  • - can't log on or log off
  • - forgotten or violated password
  • - emulator session or terminal locked up
  • - printer won't print or won't stop
  • - unable to establish TCP/IP emulator session
  • - ATM or video network equipment failure or malfunction
  • - problems with an IMS transaction
  • - e-mail difficulties
  • - questions about SIS batch jobs
  • - general questions


While the Help Desk cannot train users on software packages over the phone, we can answer a limited number of questions relating to software use or features, and we can also record and pass on requests for network training.

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
When you call the Help Desk with a problem, there are several questions that you may or may not be asked, depending upon what kind of difficulty you are having. It will speed up the process if you can have the answers to these questions ready when you call.

What is your user ID? This is the name that you use to gain access to your personal menu. It consists of 7 characters - a two-letter college code, the first four letters of your last name, and the first letter of your first name. A user ID for John Smith at VWCC would read VWSMITJ. Please let us know up front if you are using someone else's ID.

What is your terminal and/or printer number? This is a number that we sometimes need when you are having problems with anything on the mainframe. These numbers all start with a two-character college code as in VWA942A0. Terminal numbers end in "A0", while printer numbers end in "P0". Again, please let us know first thing if you are not using your own PC or terminal.

What is your IP address? This is a 4-part number that we often need when you are having problems with connecting to or printing from the mainframe. These numbers all appear as 164.106.xxx.xxx and identify your individual workstation or other piece of equipment within the VCCS wide-area network.

What were you doing when the problem occurred? We need to know if you were in IMS, FRS, TSO, etc., or still trying to log on. If you are having log on problems, please tell us what screen you are on. There are several different screens on which you log on and enter a password, and people often get them confused. If you are not sure what screen you are on, please don't be embarrassed to describe it to us by the colors or shapes it contains. That helps us a lot.

Were there any messages displayed? If you see any kind of error message on your screen while you are having a problem, please write it down. If you receive an unfamiliar message requiring that you enter a yes/no, save/cancel, or other reply that you are unsure about, please stop! Calling for help before you commit to an unforeseen outcome can prevent many common problems and possible loss of your valuable data.

Please feel free to call us even if you don't have all of the above information. Our goal is to get your problem solved and to get you back to work.