Help Desk
The DigiPen IT Help Desk is open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Help Desk is best contacted by email at helpdesk@digipen.edu, which will create a ticket in our system.
You may also go to https://helpdesk.digipen.edu and log in with your DigiPen credentials to directly use the ticketing system. Note that this system does not provide any additional functionality over a direct email. Walk-ins for questions or requests are always welcome.
Ticket Content
In order for IT to quickly and effectively respond to a Help Desk ticket, the following information (or as much of it as possible) is needed.
A clear, concise description of the nature of the problem. Any pertinent error messages should be included. An easy way to do this is with a screen capture.
The location of the problem, including the DIT number if the issue is with a computer. This number is located on the top of the computer case, near the front.
Ticket Response
IT will respond to tickets in the order they are received. Once the problem is resolved, the ticket will be closed and a notification sent to the requestor. If the problem has not been satisfactorily resolved, the ticket may be re-opened by replying to the email.
Notifications of actions taken will be emailed to the requestor. It is important to read these emails. It is often necessary for a technician to ask further questions in order to do the needed work. If such a request is made and IT does not get a response, the ticket will be closed.
IT Policies
Data Archiving
On the third week of each fall and spring semester, we identify all students who are not matriculated and not a member of any department groups. These accounts will be changed to “Limited” or “Alumni” as appropriate. Home drives will be archived, removed from the main shares, and moved to the archive-home directory. Students’ personal SVN repositories will be archived and moved to the archive-svn.
Email and SPAM
The most important things to remember about email are that they are not private, but they are permanent. Any email you send or receive on a DigiPen address is subject to review by DigiPen for any reason. Even if an email is deleted from the live email servers, it still exists in off-site backup archives.
DigiPen provides two ways to check your email. The webmail page is universally available but should be used as a supplemental or emergency method. The preferred method is to use an email client, such as Thunderbird or Outlook. Setup and technical information is available here: https://inside.digipen.edu/main/ITFAQ:Email
Email is permanently archived, but access to it is controlled for students or employees who leave DigiPen. Employee access is suspended immediately upon separation, while student accounts are processed at the beginning of each semester when email access is removed. A former student wishing to access their old email may send in a helpdesk request.
It is not DigiPen’s policy to determine what email you receive. IT filters your email with two goals in mind. The first is to block possibly harmful attachments. The second is a point-based system that rates email based on various criteria. A score under four allows the email to pass unmarked, while messages over that limit are guaranteed, accompanied by a message advising the user should they want the message delivered.
Personal Devices
We strive to give you all the tools you need for your education. The workstations provided are as up to date as can be reasonably achieved. Anyone who desires to use their private device may connect to the wireless network or wired guest network via purple ethernet cables that are available around the building. A device on the wireless or guest networks will have full access to the internet and email. Access to other services —such as shares and printers — is also available but require authentication. We segment the network in this way to prevent malware and virus issues. A device on the guest networks will not be able to directly connect (for network games or similar purposes) to devices on the internal network.
IT does not provide support for any personal electronics beyond ensuring connectivity and email.
System and Software Configuration
System and software configuration decisions are made by faculty with IT providing support and advice. Generally speaking, these decisions are made before each semester by a faculty committee and can’t be changed during the semester. Proposed changes to the standard configurations must come from faculty. A student who desires a piece of software, an update, or other general configuration change should make that request to the instructor of the class who will then generate a helpdesk ticket. Further information is available here: https://inside.digipen.edu/main/ITFAQ:Configuration_Changes
Wireless Access
DigiPen provides wireless internet. We strive to make this service as effective as possible, but there are limitations. DigiPen IT does not consider the wireless sufficient for direct educational purposes, so we will never rely on it for classroom use. It is to be expected that in crowded, high-use areas (such as the Café during meal times or Edison lab area) connectivity may be slow or spotty. Further information is available here: https://inside.digipen.edu/main/ITFAQ:Wireless_Access/Redmond