| Contacting the help desk | |
| Remote assistance | |
| Information needed when placing a call | |
| Before you call |
Phone: Dial 630-942-H-E-L-P (630-942-4357) and select 1 from the automated menu to speak to a Help Desk representative. This method of contact will be responded to more promptly then other methods of contact.
Our hours are:
Monday thru Friday - 7:30am to 10pm
Saturday - 8am to 5pm
Sunday - 11am to 8pm
After 5pm and on weekends, phone calls are received by a paging system. When you leave a message the Help Desk staff person will automatically be paged and will respond to your call as soon as possible. Please be aware that only limited assistance is available during these hours. We are only able to offer PC software consulting, PC hardware repair, and emergency response to system-wide outage during these hours.
After hours, or on days the College is closed due to a holiday, administrative closing, or inclement weather, the Help Desk Voice Mail system will record your call. Help Desk voice mail messages will be responded to the next business day.
Voice Mail: Dial 630-942-H-E-L-P (630-942-4357) and select 2 from the automated menu to leave a message.
Electronic Mail: Send an e-mail message to the Help Desk at helpdesk@cod.edu
Did you know the IT Help Desk can remotely control your PC to solve PC issues over the Internet?
The process starts with the Help Desk person sending you an email that contains a link to the “Log Me In Rescue” service. You then click on the link and follow the prompts to start up the program. From there the Help Desk person can control your keyboard and mouse to do any troubleshooting they may need to do.
You have complete control over the session at all times. A session can’t be started unless you ok it and you can end the session at any time by pressing the “disconnect” button.
Ask to be assisted via "Log Me In Rescue" the next time you call the IT Help Desk!
To aid us in helping you, please try the following before calling the Help Desk:
Reboot your machine and try again. After rebooting, see if you can replicate the problem.
Write down the exact wording of any error messages.
Have information regarding your computer and software handy. When calling the Help Desk with a problem, please make sure to have the following information about your computer and software ready:
- Type and model of computer (e.g. Gateway E-4500, HP dc5800)
- Operating system version (e.g. Windows XP, Windows 7)
Let us know if anything on your computer has changed. Answers to questions like these may help us locate the source of the problem faster:
- Has any new software/hardware been installed/removed?
- Has the computer been out for repair?
- Has anyone been over to fix any other computer related problem?
Information needed when placing a call
When you contact the Help Desk, the person answering your call will attempt to solve your problem with you while you are on the phone. If they are unable to do so, they will route your call to the appropriate IT staff member who will contact you.
There are several pieces of necessary information that we will need to solve your problem and/or verify that your problem is routed to the appropriate person. Whenever possible, callers should be in front of the effected equipment when contacting the Help Desk. We ask that you provide the following information when placing a Help Desk call:
- Your first and last name.
- The location of the problem.
- Your phone number or alternate means of contact.
- The type of equipment with the problem (printer, scanner, monitor, etc…) and its model.
- A clear and specific description of the problem or request. Include the exact wording of any error messages.
- The version, if any, of the software program in which you are experiencing difficulty with.
Depending on the nature of the problem, you may be asked a series of additional questions. You also may be asked if you are able to check connections, power off/on devices and gather additional information. Detailed information provided by the user will expedite the problem resolution process. After your call is logged, you will receive an email confirmation with a partial description of the problem, and the Help Desk call number. If you need to call back regarding the same issue, please reference the Help Desk call number. We offer full support of all our standard installed software for either Windows or Macintosh computers. We are only able to support College owned equipment that is located in a College of DuPage facility.
The College of DuPage Information Technology Help Desk will provide our customers with a positive, professional contact to resolve and facilitate problems by utilizing IT resources. Our goal is to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our customers.
The College of DuPage Help Desk Team Is:
- Committed to customer satisfaction.
- Accessible through a single point of contact.
- Proactively engaged in problem management.
- Dedicated to prompt, accurate and courteous delivery of quality support services.
- Devoted to providing immediate telephone assistance or referral to the appropriate Information Technology staff.
- Able to handle the critical elements of problem management by:
1. Logging all problems.
2. Performing first-level problem determination.
3. Providing problem resolution or bypass/recovery procedures.
4. Referring second-level questions & problems to designated IT staff members.
5. Monitoring problems coming though the Help Desk to ensure action has been taken.
6. Providing reports on the types, trends, and volume of logged problems.
Understanding the help desk call workflow
Definitions: Users contact the Help Desk with a technology question/request. Help Desk agents answer the phone/read the email. When a question cannot be answered by the Help Desk agent, the call is routed to a Referral within Information Technology.
User’s responsibilities:
- Keep up-to-date on technology skills by attending training sessions offered by the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), Business and Technology, Continuing Education, or other sources.
- Regularly check the Information Technology web site for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the latest news, and alerts about system outages and planned downtime.
- Provide all requested information when placing a Help Desk call, and assist as much as possible with the troubleshooting effort.
- Provide feedback on ways to improve the Help Desk process.
Help Desk agent’s responsibilities:
- Attempt to resolve the problem over the phone by gathering appropriate information and referring to available reference material.
- If the issue cannot be resolved over the phone, document the issue or request so that the call can be routed to the appropriate referral within IT.
- Ensure that the referral is notified immediately of any high priority requests.
- Ensure that both customer and other Help Desk agents are kept up-to-date on system wide outages and high priority calls.
- Provide feedback on ways to improve the Help Desk process.
Referral’s responsibilities:
- Contact the customer in a timely fashion. Work to keep the end user informed of the status of the call throughout the resolution process.
- Assist the Help Desk to: 1) increase the number of calls that are resolved by the Help Desk agents over the phone, 2) route the call to the appropriate referral, and 3) collect the information the referral needs to resolve a Help Desk call by providing training and documentation to the Help Desk agents on their areas of expertise.
- Keep the Help Desk database up-to-date with information on call status.
- Ensure that the Help Desk is kept up-to-date on system wide outages.
- Include sufficient detail in the Help Desk database regarding a call’s resolution to assist in the resolution of future calls.
- Provide feedback on ways to improve the Help Desk process.
Help Desk supervisor’s responsibilities:
- Monitor Help Desk call volume and re-allocate resources during peak periods.
- Provide support and assistance to Help Desk agent during emergency situations and heavy call volume periods by gathering system information such as the nature of the problem and estimated resolution for the Help Desk person.
- Updates the system status message when system outages are reported.
- Coordinate inter-departmental follow-up on backlogged Help Desk calls.
- Review the Help Desk database to spot trends and recommend process improvements or training for end users, Help Desk agents, or referrals.
- Provide feedback on ways to improve the Help Desk process.
Referral’s manager responsibilities:
- Ensure that the helpdesk.cod.edu web page is kept up-to-date when system wide outages occur. Notify affected areas of outages when appropriate.
- Ensure that the referral is keeping the Help Desk up-to-date on the status of system-wide outages. Assist in that process as necessary.
- Review the open call reports and ensure that adequate resources are being dedicated to resolve calls in a timely manner. Recommend staff workload modifications as appropriate.
- Provide for appropriate training and/or reference material for staff as needed.
- Provide time for their staff to provide the necessary training and documentation to the Help Desk staff.
- Update the responsibility chart at least once per term to ensure that calls can be properly routed.
- Provide feedback on ways to improve the Help Desk process.
Help Desk Call Workflow and System Map