AITS Service Desk

The focus of the AITS Service Desk is handling problems or questions about all administrative systems, accounts and passwords. We can also assist with basic PC desktop issues and direct you to appropriate campus or departmental resources for problems with networks or business processes.

Clients can reach us by calling (312) 996-4806 (from Chicago) or (217) 333-3102 from Urbana-Champaign or Springfield. You can also email us at servicedeskaits@uillinois.edu. E-mailing this address will automatically generate a case in Unicenter Service Desk, our problem tracking system. You will receive an automated response with a case number for reference on any follow-up.

The AITS Service Desk is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year including Holidays.

If you are experiencing a network or phone problem, you should call your respective campus Help Desk:

UIC - Academic Computing and Communications Center (ACCC)
Phone: (312) 413-8080
Web page:http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/index.html/HELP.html#QUICK-HELP

UIS - Technology Services Center (TSC)
Phone: (217) 206-7357
Web page:http://www.uis.edu/campustechnologyservices/techsupport/

Urbana Campus - Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services (CITES) -
Phone: (217) 244-7000
Web page:http://www.cites.illinois.edu/help/

Problem severity and service levels

When you report a problem to the Service Desk, we record it in Unicenter Service Desk (USD), our problem tracking system, regardless of whether we solve it immediately. USD generates a number for the case, one that should be given to you if we do not have a ready solution and must forward the problem to secondary support. (If the number is not volunteered, we encourage you to ask for it.) As part of the problem reporting process, the consultant will also assign the case a severity level, indicating its impact on your work. Associated with each severity is an AITS service-level pledge, as follows:

• High Severity - Your department and/or you are unable to function due to the problem. AITS technical support should respond to you within 2 hours of filing time. (Response means that we call you back to confirm that we are working on your problem and possibly to discuss it further.) Closure is anticipated within 24 hours.
• Medium Severity - The problem inhibits your, and.or your department's ability to function. Response should be made to you within working 2 hours of filing time. Closure is anticipated within one week.
• Low Severity - The problem is routine, possibly even just an inquiry with no loss of computing function. Response should be made to you within 4 working hours of filing time. Closure is anticipated within two weeks.

Occasionally it is necessary to escalate a problem to a department outside of AITS. When this happens, AITS cannot guarantee the response time of other departments. AITS can and will continue to act as a contact point for cases filed through our Service Desk. You can call the Service Desk and we will obtain an update on your case from the department or group working on your problem.

Cases requiring an application program change will require varying amounts of time to complete and could fall outside the service level parameters noted above. If possible, some cases may be initially addressed via a workaround rather than a program change. Projected completion timeframes will be developed and communicated to you on a case by case basis.

Escalation procedure

If you do not receive a response from AITS technical support within the time lines described here, or if you do not receive a satisfactory resolution within a reasonable time frame, call the Service Desk again to inquire about your problem, and to report that you have not been contacted.

In the event that you do not receive satisfactory service from the Service Desk staff or our AITS staff, feel free to escalate the severity of your problem as follows.

1. Contact the Interim Service Desk Manager, Peggy Ball, at 217-333-8034 or email pball@uillinois.edu.
2. If Peggy is unavailable or cannot help you, contact AITS Assistant Vice President Michael Lyon at 217-265-0716 or email mlyon@uillinois.edu.