General IT Support Information
How do we work?
Remote First
For IT support, we will attempt to resolve your issue with a remote first approach.
- We have been successful in resolving an average of 65% of issues remotely over the past year.
Self Service
We believe in putting as much problem-solving power into the hands of our clients as possible, so that you can get the answers you need 24/7.
- IST has been investing heavily in self service offerings so that you can search for answers yourself (U of A Service Portal) or have automatic resolution of your request (e.g. self service password reset)
- For further support or questions, the Staff Service Centre is available for all your IT support needs or questions.
How do we communicate with to you?
IT Pulse
Communication tool that informs you of issues with and major changes to IT systems.
Service Status Dashboard
Single webpage where you can see the operational status of key University systems.
What happens when I report an issue?
An “issue” means something is broken and action needs to be taken to fix it.
To resolve issues, we take the following actions:
Issues are reported through the IST portal. You can report an issue here.
What happens when I submit a request?
A “request” means you are requesting a service or information about a service.
To respond to requests, we take the following actions:
Service requests are available for several IST services through the Self Service Portal. Simply search for the request type in our Service Catalog. If you don’t see the request type you’re looking for, you can use our generic submit a request form.
What is remote support?
IST aims for a remote first support model, meaning before we come to you in-person to resolve your issue, we will first attempt to solve the problem through remote access. This will be done via a remote desktop tool. The analyst supporting you will send you a link to the remote support tool at the time of your support session.
Should we be unable to resolve your issue remotely, we will schedule a time to resolve your issue in-person.
How can I be notified of service outages?
IT Pulse emails subscribers notifications should there be any service degradations, outages or major updates occurring. Click here to subscribe.
You can also visit the Service Status Dashboard for information on the current status of IST managed services.
How do we ensure we meet your needs?
Your needs are our priorities. We ensure you find and receive quality services by:
- Clearly describing our service offerings.
- Delivering service in a consistent & repeatable way.
- Making improvements based on data.
- Measuring the efficiency of our service delivery.
- Setting service levels that meet your expectations.
How do we plan for the needs of the university?
The Senior IT Partners are responsible for the strategic planning of IT needs across the university. They work with the College General Manager, Faculty General Managers, Deans and other academic and administrative leaders to support the core mission of their assigned College, unit or portfolio.
The Senior IT Partners also collaborate within the Partner portfolio, the IST Service Improvement Manager, and the IST Project Portfolio Manager to coordinate IT strategy and significant IT initiatives. The Senior IT Partners are the trusted advisors and leaders to help the colleges or departments with their IT strategy. The Senior IT Partner for each portfolio is:
- Sherri Honeychurch — Senior IT Partner, College of Health Sciences + Facilities and Operations
- Rob Washburn — Senior IT Partner, College of Social Sciences & Humanities + Office of the President and General Counsel/ University Secretary
- James Gronau — Senior IT Partner, College of Natural & Applied Sciences + Research and Innovation
- Silvia Teles — Senior IT Partner, Stand-Alone Faculties (Augustana, Campus Saint Jean, Faculty of Native Studies), University Services and Finance, External Relations, Office of the Provost and Vice-President Academic
IST Services
IST provides you with a wide variety of services: