2008 Woodie Awards
Asking for Help
Academic Computing Launches New Service Website
By Gina Boice
9/3/07 - News
It is sometimes confusing to know which campus office to call or to seek help from with a specific issue or problem. To reduce this confusion, the Mines Help Center was expanded this summer to cover questions and support requests of many types, including, but not limited to, computing, Trailhead, registration, financial aid, and accounting.
Instead of sending email to the various support departments, just submit a request via the web form at http://helpdesk.mines.edu.
Only three fields are required: a subject containing a short description of the request, an e-mail address, and the details of the request. Additional information can be provided to help clarify the request but is not required. If you fill out the "Speed Routing" options, the request will automatically be routed to the office most likely to be able to help; otherwise it will be reviewed by a support consultant and routed to the appropriate office.
If a question or problem is submitted to the Help Center that is best resolved by a campus department that is not actively participating in using the help center application, it will be forwarded to that department via e-mail. If you aren't sure which department can help you, submit a support request to the Help Center and it will be reviewed and routed to the appropriate department.
Use of the Help Center, rather than e-mail, is encouraged, according to Derek Wilson, CIO and Director of AC&N. "With thousands of service and support requests coming in via e-mail each year, it is easy to lose track of some requests, or waste time addressing the same request multiple times, especially during peak periods" said Wilson. "The Help Center application helps us to track requests, document them, produce metrics, and ultimately build a better knowledge base so problems can be addressed more quickly, or avoided, in the future." He acknowledged that "it's certainly true that using the Help Center is not always as convenient as having someone right next door available to help you" but went on to say that "with support demands increasing significantly every year, we need to use the resources available to us as efficiently as possible."
Instead of sending email to the various support departments, just submit a request via the web form at http://helpdesk.mines.edu.
Only three fields are required: a subject containing a short description of the request, an e-mail address, and the details of the request. Additional information can be provided to help clarify the request but is not required. If you fill out the "Speed Routing" options, the request will automatically be routed to the office most likely to be able to help; otherwise it will be reviewed by a support consultant and routed to the appropriate office.
If a question or problem is submitted to the Help Center that is best resolved by a campus department that is not actively participating in using the help center application, it will be forwarded to that department via e-mail. If you aren't sure which department can help you, submit a support request to the Help Center and it will be reviewed and routed to the appropriate department.
Use of the Help Center, rather than e-mail, is encouraged, according to Derek Wilson, CIO and Director of AC&N. "With thousands of service and support requests coming in via e-mail each year, it is easy to lose track of some requests, or waste time addressing the same request multiple times, especially during peak periods" said Wilson. "The Help Center application helps us to track requests, document them, produce metrics, and ultimately build a better knowledge base so problems can be addressed more quickly, or avoided, in the future." He acknowledged that "it's certainly true that using the Help Center is not always as convenient as having someone right next door available to help you" but went on to say that "with support demands increasing significantly every year, we need to use the resources available to us as efficiently as possible."
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