User Support Services

ITS User Services provides the primary support for members of the faculty who use computing in their curricular applications and their research. In addition, it manages most campus "smart" classrooms and computer labs.

The group is also the main source of support for all individuals on campus, in both academic and administrative departments, who use personal computers for personal productivity applications.

ITS HelpDesk

The ITS Help Desk should be your first point of contact for technical assistance and may be contacted by calling (828) 251-6445 or by sending an email to helpdesk@unca.edu. While classes are in session during fall and spring semesters, the ITS Help Desk is staffed during normal hours of operation.

The ITS Service Request System and online Knowledge Base are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These services allow you to request assistance from ITS via a simple web form, access a Frequently Asked Questions list, and browse commonly requested "How-to" articles. Service requests placed via the web will be responded to by ITS staff during normal operating hours.

Normal ITS staff hours are 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The Open Use computer lab is staffed by student Lab Assistants during all operating hours, please see the Open Use Computer Lab page for details.

Computing Lab/Classroom Management

Academic Computing Services manages campus computing laboratories and classrooms. Most facilities are lab/classrooms, some are labs only, and some are small residence hall labs. New Hall 008 is the main lab-only facility on campus. It contains networked Windows machines and Macs. In addition, a scanner is available for PC and Mac use in this lab. Student access to other labs on campus is dependant upon class schedules as well as decisions of the individual departments which oversee them. The software in the labs is a mixture of course-specific software for students in classes and personal productivity software (word processors, spreadsheets, graphics packages, etc.) for general student use.

ITS provides technical support for all facilities, maintaining software and hardware. In its open use lab, NH008, ITS provides lab assistants and furnishes laboratory supplies. The lab assistants are part-time student employees who provide consulting to student lab users.

Scheduling of classes, workshops or other events to classroom/labs are handled by Silke Crombie at (828) 250-3832. Faculty wishing to hold a one-time class session in a facility during open lab hours should contact Silke Crombie at (828) 250-3832 at least one week prior to the proposed class.

After reserving a classroom/lab for a regularly-scheduled class, faculty should contact User Services to make arrangements for software installation and laboratory orientation. User Services should be contacted in the semester prior to the class, at about the time book orders are being submitted for the next semester. The laboratory orientation is designed to teach faculty members how to use the facility. The faculty members, in turn, are expected to orient their classes to facility usage.

ITS User Services also maintains the Smart Classrooms on campus. Orientation to the equipment and software installations can be arranged by calling the ITS HelpDesk at (828) 251-6445.

See the UNCA Computer Labs home page for more information about labs.

Hardware Maintenance and Repair

Information Technology Services repairs all UNCA-owned personal computers and peripherals, at no charge to the user department. Normally, staff will visit the site to repair the equipment. In unable to repair at the site, staff will pick up broken equipment and transfer it to the electronics shop for repair. Sometimes a determination will be made as to whether or not the equipment will cost more to repair than to replace, but we will attempt all means to complete the repair. The shop is located in Robinson 016.

We make every attempt to keep a user with a hardware problem up and functional, including supplying him/her with shop loaner equipment if any is available.

To submit a request for repair, assemble relevant details (service tag #, equipment type, model #, description of problem, etc.), call the ITS HelpDesk at (828) 251-6445, and request that a service ticket be submitted for assistance.

ITS, as a matter of policy, does not repair privately-owned equipment.

RESNET Management

ITS User Services manages the residence hall network, RESNET. RESNET provides a free high speed network port (100 mb switched ethernet) for every dorm resident. Residents with computers can connect to the network to access UNCA's central computing resources and the Internet at large.

ITS User Services provides support to assist residents with their networking problems. This support includes assistance in resolving internet access problems, virus and spyware issues, and other software matters.