IT Support Guidelines

• Help Call Procedures
• Problem Prioritization
• Computer Repair
• Hardware and Software Standards
• Older Hardware and Software
• Software Unrelated to University Business
• University Machines in Private Homes
• Non-University Machines

Help call procedures

The best way to get in contact with us is to call our help line at 5-1571 so we can make sure your problem is documented and tracked. You can also enter your problem at our website at https://footprints.arts.psu.edu.

When you first report a problem, we will attempt to find out as much as we can about the problem and the circumstances under which it occured. If any error message occurred, we will need to know the exact wording. The wording will in many cases help us diagnose the problem more quickly.

If we cannot diagnose the problem over the phone, we will need to see the problem in action before fixing it. Some research time may be involved. Although we try to solve problems as quickly as possible, some require additional footwork and phone calls.

Problem Priorities

We use the following general guidelines for prioritizing problems.

In the case of department-specific priorities, especially where student labs are concerned, the support specialist and the department must agree upon changes. However, everyone within the department should be made aware of the department's priority list. When everyone expects their issues will be first priority, no one will be happy.

1. Total network outage in a building
2. Virus-infected machines
3. Security patches to protect against worms and viruses
4. Class or student IT service outage
5. Faculty/staff IT service outage
6. Prevents every day work
7. Affects every day work
8. Upgrades

Computer Repair

Some issues may not be fixable and the hardware will need to go out for repair. We will keep everyone informed about price estimates versus machine worth, but the budget owning the hardware will be responsible for paying for the repair service.

Older Hardware and Software

We will do what we can to keep older software and hardware running, but all software and hardware will eventually need to be retired. In instances where people do not want to convert or upgrade, we will try to help in the event of an emergency but cannot guarantee success in providing technical support.

Software Unrelated to University Business

Because of limited time and resources, we cannot support software that does not facilitate University business. This includes screen savers, web games, and chat software. If we find that this software is adversely affecting the operation of a system it will be removed. We do not have the capacity to troubleshoot it.

University Machines in Private Homes

As we do not have a Penn State vehicle, we face several liability issues in traveling to people's homes. Please bring the machine and the modem in. We have tools, spare parts and software at our offices. We will work with you to troubleshoot your problem or install new software.

Non-University Machines

Support is only available for hardware and software owned by Penn State University. Help is available for non-University machines at the ITS Helpdesk (helpdesk@psu.edu).

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