Help Desk Support Procedures
Initial Contact 2nd Level Support 3rd Level Support Referrals Supported Software Supported Hardware The LTS Help Desk is the single point of contact for assistance with computing, library, and telephone services questions for faculty, students, and staff.
Help Desk staff field questions at one of the three Help Desk locations, via telephone (758-HELP), or e-mail (helpdesk@lehigh.edu).
The initial contact follows this procedure:
If the help desk consultant is successful in finding an answer to the question/problem, the transaction is completed. If the client's needs have not been addressed, or if more information is required, the help desk staff member will make a referral.
- The Help Desk consultant attempts to resolve the problem immediately.
- For computing questions, consultants may need to ask basic questions about the computer and its configuration (i.e., is it a Macintosh, Windows XP, etc.), the problem or error message, and about the specific events that preceded the problem.
- For library questions, the consultant may conduct a brief interview with the user to clarify specific information needs.
- The Help Desk consultant attempts to resolve the incident through personal expertise/experience, by finding a document in the Help Desk database or other documentation, or by consulting with a colleague.
- Specialized or lengthy questions may be referred to an 'off-duty' help desk staff member who can provide immediate and uninterrupted assistance.
When an answer cannot be provided immediately by help desk staff, a question or problem is referred to a second tier of specialists. Second level support includes, but is not limited to, the following kinds of services:
How referrals are made:
- Modem troubleshooting support is provided by Student and General Services staff
- Client Services librarians with specialized subject knowledge provide research assistance and instruction
- Instructional technology consultants help faculty develop online course materials.
- Computing consultants assist with in-depth computing questions/problems
- Instructional technologists guide in developing online instructional materials
- Technology Installation and Maintenance Service (TIMS) technicians provide hardware support for computers, classroom equipment, telephones, and networks.
- Telephone services staff provide assistance with planning, designing, and using telecommunications and voice mail services.
- Software librarians coordinate licensing and availability of LTS-supported software.
- Computing Accounts and Security staff manage computing accounts and passwords, policies, and security.
- Residential networking (WIRED) team members assist students connecting to the network through residence halls.
- LTS staff in other areas also provide a wide range of special services.
Referrals are often made based on the college or departmental affiliation of the caller. College-based teams for Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Education, Business and Economics Colleges support their constituencies. The Academic and Adminstrative Department team supports Lehigh administrative staff. Similarly, students typically get assistance from the Residential Networking (WIRED) staff or the Student and General Services team.Some questions are referred according to the type of problem. For example, Macintosh questions or questions about SGI workstations may be referred to any of the designated support specialists for those platforms. Reports of computing security breaches would be forwarded to the Information Security and Policy officer.
Referral to second tier support is generally by phone or email (initially), and prompt response to voice mail and email is an LTS service standard. Sometimes it is possible to obtain second-level assistance immediately. For example, librarians have office hours at a consultation desk near the help desk between 1-5pm Monday through Friday.
Regardless of how a question is referred, most of the of the time a thorough discussion of the question or problem is advantageous. The consultant may suggest scheduling an appointment for consultation.
Unresolved Issues
In some cases, an incident may be determined to be insoluable at this level. If a determination is made that the incident is solvable but requires expertise from LTS staff who do not normally provide user support, the incident is passed on to Third Level Support.
Incidents which are not solved at the second level may require special analysis and programming; review of LTS policy, standards, or support by LTS management; modifications to network services; coordination of services with other LTS or non-LTS units; or other special support arrangements.
In some cases, it may not be possible for even the second or third level support analysts to solve a user’s problem. For example, some computing questions/problems must be pursued with a software/hardware vendor; certain types of services are not routinely offered by LTS (e.g., house calls/home visits by consultants). Similarly, some library questions cannot be answered using available resources, or require more time than library staff can devote to any one question. If we are unable to offer assistance directly, the Help Desk or LTS staff member will attempt to provide vendor/consultant telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. It must be understood that these outside consultants are not part of LTS and we do not recommend or guarantee their work. It is up to the client and the consultant to agree to whatever guarantees or fees are involved.
The Help Desk’s expertise and level of support will be primarily based on a combination of the following:
- the most current version of supported operating systems and application software
- the version that is most commonly used by the campus community
- vendor support
The Help Desk’s first level of support will attempt to troubleshoot problems and answer the basic "how do I" questions. The second level support teams will handle the more difficult troubleshooting and in some instances providing on-site assistance. The Help Desk is trained to assist clients with operating systems and software that are used by the majority of the campus community. While staff will make a good faith effort to assist clients with all questions, it is not always possible to provide the highest level of support for products that are outdated (e.g., Windows 95) or non-supported (Eudora mail). Problems that are beyond the expertise of the Help Desk will be referred to the applicable vendor, an external consultant, or documentation available in the library or on the WWW.
Supported Hardware As computer hardware ages and becomes less common place on campus, our ability to support decreases. The focus of the Help Desk will be on hardware that is supported by Lehigh. It is important to note that as vendors release new versions of an operating system or software application, they may only function on newer platforms.
Hardware service requests are tracked through a WWW-based problem-tracking system. Clients can call the help desk to enter a hardware problem service request. Clients should keep the service request number and provide it when calling for an update on the status of a request.
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