11.2 Support Services Policy
Scope of Policy
Support for the microcomputer systems owned by East Georgia State College is provided by the staff of the college's Information Technology Department. This office should be contacted when information or support is needed concerning college-owned microcomputer systems and software. The staff of the Information Technology Department office are also available for consultation on the purchase of workstations and software. Information Technology staff will secure all quotations for computer equipment purchases. Please refer to the college's IT Equipment Acquisition/Asset Management & Configuration Policy & Procedure for additional information regarding purchasing IT-related equipment.
Objectives
The staff members of the College's Information Technology Department are not responsible for providing technical support to faculty, staff, students or other related parties for personally owned IT equipment and/or software.
**Note of Exception**
- The only exception to the Information Technology Department's staff being responsible for providing support for personally owned IT equipment (i.e., notebook, laptop computer) is (1) for assisting faculty, staff, students or guests of the college who are experiencing problems accessing the college's wireless Internet service or (2) for providing assistance to faculty & staff for problems utilizing the EGSC VPN remote access.
- To facilitate this support, an East Georgia State College Information Technology Department "Campus Computer Wireless Network Access Assistance Agreement" form must be signed by the user prior to support being provided. A copy of this form is included at the end of this policy.
Faculty/staff and other related parties requiring assistance with any college-owned IT equipment should first complete a work request via the college's online work request system. If a user is unable to complete the request due to the malfunction of his/her computer, the user should ask the division secretary or other staff/faculty person to submit the request. Work order requests include items such as troubleshooting hardware and software; installation and set up of new systems; and installation of new software. Faculty and staff must not install and set up new equipment and software or move existing equipment. These tasks must be completed by Information Technology staff.
Information Technology staff are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the academic computer labs. Only Information Technology staff may perform maintenance tasks on existing equipment, order and set up new equipment, and install/ uninstall software. ALL computer systems located in the college's academic labs must have the necessary security software installed. Only the Information Technology staff may install this software. Request for maintenance of new equipment and software should be completed via the college's online work order system. (NOTE: Each semester, faculty will be notified (via email) of a deadline for submitting software installation requests for the next semester. After the deadline has passed, any request for software installation for the following semester must be approved by the Vice President for Information Technology.)
All campus microcomputer systems are initially covered under warranties. After such warranties expire, decisions will be made to either continue the warranty with the vendor or to maintain systems using Information Technology staff. Consultation with Information Technology staff is recommended before a decision is made. Information Technology staff will coordinate repairs with outside vendors. Cost of extended warranties and repairs will be charged to the appropriate division and department budgets.
