Service Level Agreement

IT Services Support Desk support of Miami University Students

I. SLA Purpose

The purpose of this Service Level Agreement is to define:

• the services that are provided by the Information Technology Services (IT Services) Support Desk to the students of Miami University
  
• contact information for the Support Desk
  
• how support will be provided
  
• the timeframe in which a student can expect a response.

II. IT Services Support Desk

Contact Information

Phone: (513) 529-7900
Fax: (513) 529-5577
E-mail: supportdesk@muohio.edu

Location

The IT Services Support Desk is located in 103 Robertson Hall.

Hours

Walk-in Assistance:
Regular Hours: Mon-Fri from 8am to 6pm
Summer Hours: Mon-Fri from 8am to 5pm

Phone Support:
Monday through Thursday: 7:00AM - Midnight
Friday: 7:00AM - 6:00PM
Saturday: 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Sunday: 9:00AM - Midnight

Response Time

The IT Services Support Desk will have two to four representatives available during phone support hours to answer student requests for support. This is a sufficient number to answer most requests at the time of client contact. Calls that cannot be handled at the time of client contact will be forwarded to voice-mail. Students are encouraged to leave a voice mail message, stating name (with a clear spelling of last name), phone number and a brief problem description, so that we can return their phone call as soon as possible.

All requests for support that come to the IT Services Support Desk via e-mail, fax, and voice-mail will begin to be worked on within one business day (Monday through Friday) of receipt of the request.

During the beginning of the semester, due to extremely high call volume and minimal student staffing, it may take up to five business days for someone to begin working on a request for support.

The amount of time until the resolution of a problem will vary greatly depending on its complexity and the Support Desk's ability to reach the student. Often, the Support Desk has a solution soon after the problem has been logged or there are questions about the details of the problem. Students spend a great deal of time away from their residence, so the problem resolution time is often pushed back by an inability to make contact. The Support Desk will do its best to make contact - we want to help you solve the problem.

Please note: Searching the Miami University Knowledge Base for potential solutions before contacting the IT Services Support Desk may provide an immediate answer to a technology problem. The information in the Knowledge Base is provided by the support staff and addresses many common problems. The Knowledge Base is available at http://ithelp.muohio.edu/.

III. Services Provided

Software

The IT Services Support Desk will provide assistance with the software products listed at http://www.muohio.edu/supportedsoftware/. This list will change on occasion, as vendors release new versions that replace the old versions.

Online Services

IT Services provides many online services to Miami students. The IT Services Support Desk will provide assistance with these services.

The list of services may change; new services will be added as they become available and old services will be removed as they become obsolete. This agreement will be updated regularly in order to maintain the most current information.

• Outlook Web Access (e-mail)
  
• netDisk (also known as Universal Disk Space)
  
• myMiami
  
• Bannerweb
  
• Blackboard
  
• Novell Directory Services
  
• Electronic Directory
  
• Listserv
  
• Knowledge Base
  
• Computer Based Training
  

Network Connectivity

The IT Services Support Desk will provide assistance connecting to MUnet via Ethernet, wireless, or dial-up.

The IT Services Support Desk also provides assistance to off-campus students using the Road Runner Internet access available through Network Services Enterprise.

If student connectivity problems cannot be solved over the phone, ResNet technicians are available for appointments in the residence halls. The IT Services Support Desk offers carry-in appointments for off-campus students having connectivity troubles. Please consult the Support Desk web pages for details on how to obtain an appointment.

Virus Removal

IT Services scans all incoming and outgoing e-mail for viruses. Despite this effort, many student computers will be infected with viruses throughout the year due to the nature of how viruses spread (e-mail from non-Miami sites, download of files, etc.). The IT Services Support Desk offers a carry-in service to clean viruses from student computers.

Due to the amount of time involved in cleaning a machine, ResNet technicians cannot come to the residence halls to clean student computers. Machines must be brought to the Support Desk by appointment.

Service charges may apply for personally-owned computers; please review Maintenance & Repair costs.

General Computing

The information detailed above describes the minimal level of support the students of Miami University should expect from the IT Services Support Desk. As time and knowledge allows, the IT Services Support Desk will assist students with general computing problems not specifically mentioned above.

IV. Performance Monitoring

Quantitative and qualitative measures will be used to determine how well the IT Services Support Desk is doing in meeting the responsibilities detailed in this agreement. Below are some statistics to display the performance levels of the Support Desk, as a whole:

• 90% of phone calls are answered within 60 seconds
• In fiscal year 2005, we began working on 99% of requests within 1 business day
• In fiscal year 2006, we began working on 99% of requests within 1 business day

Call Tracking

All requests for support are logged in a tracking system by IT Services Support Desk personnel. In addition to aiding the tracking of requests for support, the tracking system also allows for reporting to be done on the data collected. This will allow reporting to be done on how many requests for help are not answered within one business day.

Customer Support Services Client Satisfaction Survey

IT Services Customer Support Services conducts an annual survey to determine the client satisfaction level for services offered, including support provided by the Support Desk. The data collected from this survey will be used to gauge how well the IT Services Support Desk is serving student clients and meeting the expectations detailed in this agreement. The data is also used to direct service improvements.

Spring, 2002 undergraduate satisfaction with the IT Services Support Desk was 3.68 on a 5 point scale. Spring, 2003 undergraduate satisfaction with the IT Services Support Desk was 4.14 on a 5 point scale. Spring, 2004 undergraduate satisfaction with the IT Services Support Desk was 4.58 on a 5 point scale

Spring, 2002 graduate data do not exist. Spring, 2003 graduate satisfaction with the IT Services Support Desk was 4.25 on a 5 point scale. Spring 2004 graduate satisfaction with the IT Services Support Desk was 5 on a 5 point scale.

V. Expectations

IT Services Support Desk Expectations of Miami Students

Before making a request for support, a Miami student is expected to do the following (if these steps have not been done, Support Desk personnel will ask the student to perform the steps that are relevant to the problem being reported)

• See if a reboot of the machine clears the problem.
  
• Make sure all power, network, and peripheral cables are plugged in properly.
  
• Make sure all components are turned on (monitor, system unit, printer, modem, etc.)
  
• Record the exact text of any error messages received.
  
• Have any relevant details about the computer at hand (what operating system, what software is being used, any special configurations, etc.).

If possible, be at the machine when requesting support.

When things do not work right, people can become upset and frustrated. IT Services Support Desk personnel are able to best help Miami students if the student requesting assistance remains courteous.

Miami Student Expectations of the IT Services Support Desk

• Courteous and professional service.
  
• IT Services Support Desk personnel will make no assumptions about a student’s technical expertise.
  
• If an IT Services Support Desk representative does not know the solution to a problem, he or she will consult with other IT Services Support Desk personnel before attempting to solve a problem.
  
• Assurance of assistance. The IT Services Support Desk will provide support for the services detailed in this agreement. If requests for support are received on services that IT Services does not support, we will do our best to provide assistance or a referral to an external resource (referrals to external resources are not endorsements of that resource).