Getting support

If you have an IT issue that you need support with, these pages will point you in the right direction.

How to contact the Service Desk

The Service Desk is the means by which you should contact IT Services. The main focuses of the Service Desk are:

• Incident control (faults)
• Dealing with service requests (eg making a change to a student’s printing account)
• The provision of help, advice and communication

Online support

Students - Use the CU Portal for IT Services. If on campus and already logged into the network, typing “CUPortal” into the browser will take you to the Portal, then select the IT Services option. If using an open access room or cluster, the browser should already have pointed directly to the CU Portal. Check to see if there is information relating to your query on there – if not, contact the service desk (details below).

Members of staff - Log your support call with the online Service Desk or see if the answer to your query is on Staffnet.

Telephone support

Alternatively, request support by telephone on 024 7688 7777 (ext 7777 if on campus) and choosing the relevant option from the menu.

In person

You can also visit us in person at our desk on the ground floor of the Library - be aware that at busy times (term time) there may be queues at peak times of the day. The Service Desk can be found at the far end of the ground floor to the entrance. It acts as a focal point for student support, but can also be used by staff, especially outside of normal office hours. The desk is mainly open during term time with variable opening hours outside of term time.

Touch screens

Outside of the IT Service Desk opening hours or at busy times, you can use the three touch screens located by the Service Desk to:

• Register with IT Services
• Reset your password
• Log a support call with IT Services
• Check the status of your logged call
• Leave feedback on the Service Desk staff
• Email PDF guides to yourself on a range of topics:
  • Email
  • Printing
  • CU student portal
  • Antivirus
  • Moodle
  • Wireless
  • PC Issues
  • Resetting your password
  • Using the e-library

Email

Only if you can’t use any of the above, email:

advice.its@coventry.ac.uk (current students only)

itsupport@coventry.ac.uk (staff)

This usually takes longer and should be only used if you have not been able to use any of the other methods of seeking support.

What we always need to know

• Who you are (your full name and your system access login ID)
• Where you are (location details, ie room number)
• How we can contact you back (phone no./ email address)
• Your current availability (i.e. details of when we might not be able to contact you)
• Details of what you were trying to do (when you had the problem)
• The importance and urgency of the problem - if you know of other people experiencing the same issue, tell us.
• Details of the nature of your problem (including any error messages - if you can copy/paste or take a screen shot of the error message to send to us, that would be very helpful)
• If you are contacting us about something already logged with us, then please quote the call reference number.
• If you are not reporting a problem or asking for help, then we need details of the service request that you wish to make.
• Making notes of this information before you contact us, will save both you and us a lot of time and allow us to deal with your problem much faster and more efficiently than might otherwise be possible.

Direct connection to your PC

This is a means by which the Service Desk, and other IT support staff, can connect to your PC wherever you are in the world and operate it remotely - as long as you are connected to the internet - in order to diagnose a problem and/or give you help and advice.

This access is always under your control and your permission is needed to make the link in the first place. This facility can vastly reduce the amount of time needed to resolve any issue that you might have - so where it is requested, we advise you to agree to its use. However, always make sure that you can confirm the identity of the person requesting any connection to your PC.

This support only applies to University provided equipment which can be confirmed as such.

Escalating calls

If you wish to 'escalate' your problem (if it’s not been solved, or you don't think it's being properly dealt with), please contact the people below in the order that they appear:

• Senior Service Desk Analyst - David Reeve, ext 7777 (d.reeve@coventry.ac.uk)
• Service Desk Manager - Phil Graham, ext 3073 (p.graham@coventry.ac.uk)
• Head of Local Delivery - Neil Shorthouse, ext 8057 (n.shorthouse@coventry.ac.uk)

If you are a member of staff wishing to escalate a call, please read the advice on Staffnet about escalating your call first.