Policies

Service Procedures for Student Affairs Information Technology

Revised 04/30/08

The management of information technology has recently undergone tremendous changes in the Division of Student Affairs. The goal of the Student Affairs Information Technology (SAIT) department is to provide you with the best service within the shortest period of time. This document explains how to obtain support and outlines the guidelines SAIT follows when responding to requests. Comments and questions about these service procedures can be directed to Tom.Bloom@uconn.edu.

Several of the service request protocols described below call for the request to originate from a designated employee in the requesting department. This is meant to insure that the request is genuinely endorsed by the department; some of the requests involve granting staff access to sensitive department resources or incur charges to the department budget.

Contents

1. Contact SAIT
2. Problem or malfunction
3. User account
4. Access to drive, folder, calendar, or mailbox
5. Equipment replacement and purchases
6. Software installation or upgrade
7. Data and phone jack installation or activation
8. Web page update
9. Software training or assistance
10. Phone (desktop or cell)
11. Custom software application development and changes to existing custom software applications
12. New web site
13. New hardware or software system

1. Contacting SAIT

All requests for assistance should be made to the SAIT help desk by calling 6-8992 or sending an email to sait@uconn.edu.

To speak to a specific SAIT employee, call the SAIT main phone line at 6-4559. SAIT employees will not respond to new assistance requests unless they are made through the help desk; this is to insure that all new requests are logged, routed correctly, and reviewed. SAIT employees will transfer new assistance requests to the help desk.

Personal SAIT phone numbers are displayed as Private on the receiving phone. This is implemented to support the routing of assistance requests through the SAIT help desk.

Department and Division leaders have an IT emergency contact protocol that can be used when one of the following conditions is met: 1) the inability of a department or unit to perform a mission-critical function because some component of the information technology infrastructure has failed and the urgency of the situation precludes using the standard SAIT reporting process, or 2) the need for IT intervention to assist with a student-related emergency. Emergency requests must come from an approved contact.

2. Problem or malfunction

Report all problems and malfunctions involving computers, printers, software, and other equipment to the SAIT help desk. Student workers who make a problem report will be asked to provide the name and phone number of a full-time co-worker contact—this is designed to alleviate delays caused by the difficulty of communicating with part-time student workers. ]

3. User account

A user account consists of a logon name and password that can be used to gain access to a technology system. Creation of user accounts requires approval from the appropriate system owner. Most user accounts can be created by SAIT; however, some are created directly by the system owner. The appropriate methods for requesting a user account are described below.

• NetID: The NetID is a University account that is fundamental to using many campus technology systems. NetID’s are created automatically upon the hiring of most new employees. Some employees, notably Dining Services affiliates and temporaries, do not automatically have a NetID created. A NetID for these employees can be created when an authorized employee of the requesting department (Table 1) submits a NetID Request form (available HERE). This form should be faxed (6-6818) or hand-delivered to SAIT (McMahon mezzanine). It is not appropriate to deliver this information through email because a new employee’s Social Security Number is displayed. SAIT will process the request and contact the authorized requestor when the account is ready to use.
• Exchange/Outlook: A mailbox is created automatically as part of the employee hiring process; this is done in conjunction with NetID creation. Some employees, notably Dining Services affiliates and temporaries, do not automatically have an Exchange mailbox created. An Exchange mailbox for these employees can be created when an authorized employee of the requesting department (Table 1) submits a request to SAIT. The form for requesting a NetID is also used to request the creation of an Exchange mailbox. SAIT will process the request and contact the authorized requestor when the mailbox is ready to use.
• Domain User Accounts: Domain accounts are necessary for logging on to any Division computer. They are not automatically created as part of the hiring process. Domain user accounts are created when an authorized employee of the requesting department (Table 1) sends a request to SAIT; the request should include the full name of the employee needing the account, their NetID, and their job title. SAIT will process the request and contact the authorized requestor when the account is ready to use.

Table 1: Department contacts authorized to request a new domain, NetID, or Exchange account.

Many departments have line of business systems that have an account logon and password that are independent of the NetID and domain account. Other line of business systems require special permission to be set before an account can gain access. Although most of these accounts can be created or permissions granted by SAIT, such a request needs to come from the system owner. Some of these special systems, however, have accounts that are created by the system owner. Table 2 lists special systems and the procedures to follow for obtaining an account or access.

Table 2: Special systems, their owners, and account creation responsibility.

All requests should be submitted to the system owner. The owner will process the request or forward the request, if approved, to SAIT for processing. Requests sent directly to SAIT from someone other than the system owner will be forwarded to the system owner. If the request can be processed by SAIT, it will be created once the system owner grants approval; SAIT will notify the requestor. If the request can be processed by the system owner, and the owner approves the request, it will be processed by the system owner; the owner will notify the requestor.

4. Access to drive, folder, calendar, or mailbox

All domain accounts have security permissions to access a basic suite of network resources. The Division and departments also have special network drives, folders, calendars, and mailboxes that require special permission to be granted before access is granted. Although these permissions are granted by SAIT, such a request needs to come from the resource owner (Table 3). Requests sent directly to SAIT from someone other than the system owner will be forwarded to the system owner for approval. Once approval is granted, SAIT will grant access and notify the requestor.

Table 3: Special resources and their owners.

5. Equipment Replacement and Purchases

Most equipment purchases will be handled through a standard replacement cycle; SAIT has the fiscal responsibility for cyclic replacement purchases. Special purchases of new equipment are considered on a case-by-case basis. Special requests need to originate from the department’s authorized contact for new equipment purchases (Table 4).

Table 4: Authorized requestors for special equipment purchases.

Computer Replacement: Division computer hardware will be replaced on a standard cycle: desktop computers/monitors every four years, and laptop computers every three years. Replacement equipment is allocated on the basis of the type of work being done on a computer. An employee whose work utilizes a high degree of a computer’s power might receive a replacement desktop computer every year or two, while an employee who only performs basic tasks on a computer might receive a replacement every three or four years. Laptop computers are normally replaced at the end of their three year life cycle. SAIT is fiscally responsible for these cyclic replacement costs.

6. Software Installation or Upgrade:

Table 5: Authorized requestors for special software purchases and upgrades.

7. Data and Phone Port Installation or Activation

Table 6: Authorized requestors for network and phone port installations and activations.

8. Web Page Update

Software Training or Assistance

Phone (Desktop or Cell)

Custom Software Application Development and Changes to Existing Custom Software Applications

New web site

New hardware or software system