The IT Help Desk is Moving Back to FLW

We're Moving
Help Desk in FLW
On May 23, the Help Desk will be relocating from the Hughes-Trigg Student Center back to Fondren Library West.  We are looking forward to providing top-notch support in a beautifully renovated space, and in a convenient, central location on campus.

Summer Hours beginning June 1st:

Monday through Thursday  8AM – 9PM
Friday  8AM – 6PM
Saturday and Sunday 12PM – 6PM

Contact Information:

Phone:  214.768.4357
Email:  help@smu.edu
Submit a Ticket Online:  help.smu.edu

Classroom Emergency Support

 Please phone 214-768-8888 to request assistance.

Page updated 05/16/2016 to fixed summer hours.
Page updated 05/17/2016 to add exact move date.

Winter Break Brings New Classroom Upgrades to Campus

During the winter break, our Classroom Support team was hard at work to make sure classrooms in need of technology upgrades were ready for the new semester. As semesters go by, heavily used equipment becomes less reliable and older technology requires replacement to keep classrooms functional.

Almost forty classrooms received upgrades over the break with improvements including new projectors, enhanced functionality, revamped control systems and more. Here are a few examples of the work that’s been completed across campus:

  • Annette Simmons:  New projectors in 138, 144 and 218.  New lamps in 221 and 213.
  • Dedman Life Science: New projectors in 110, 127, 128, 129, 130 and 131.
  • Clements Hall: New projectors and control systems in G16, G18, 120, 126, 225, 324, 325, 326 and 334.  New computers installed in 225, G18, 326 and 334.
  • Dallas Hall: New control systems in 120, 137 and 138.
  • Umphrey Lee: New power control in 233.
  • Owens Arts Center: New power control in B150 and 2020.
  • Hyer Hall: TV/wall monitor installed in G21.

These repairs and improvements are just a small portion of the larger mission to update all classrooms on campus for a more consistent experience for faculty and students. As always, if you have any questions regarding the operation of classroom equipment, feel free to contact the IT Help Desk at 214-768-4357. If there is an immediate technical problem with the classroom, a support representative will be dispatched to your location and should arrive within five minutes.

Where do I go for help?

Over the past 6 months, there have been a large number of changes as we transitioned to Shared Services. Although we are still modifying and improving processes, the main contact channels will remain intact.  This ensures you always know how to get help when you need it.

Classroom Emergency Support

  • Please dial 214-768-8888 to access the classroom support line.
  • Faculty in Cox can continue to use the help button on the podiums in the classrooms.

Classrooms in Lyle:

  • For Computer or Network issues in the classroom, contact 214-768-8888.
  • For assistance with AV and recording equipment, please contact the Lyle Distance Education Help Desk at 214-768-1260 or email dehelp@lyle.smu.edu.
    Lyle Help Desk Hours: Monday – Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM
    Control Rooms: Monday – Thursday 11:00AM-9:45PM and Saturday 8:00AM-12:30PM

Reporting issues or requests for assistance

The IT Help Desk is now fully staffed (see We are excited to announce the new Help Desk team!) and last month, we began offering full-time Help Desk support coverage 7 days a week. To ensure that all reported issues are being addressed quickly, support requests will be first handled/reviewed by the IT Help Desk rather than being distributed immediately to the local IT Resources.

All requests for assistance (outside of the classroom emergencies) should be made through one of our contact channels listed below.  The Help Desk will either respond to the issue directly or route the issue to the appropriate personnel for resolution.  Since many of the responsibilities of our IT personnel changed with the move to Shared Services, this process will ensure an efficient and timely response to your request by the appropriate personnel.

 Hours:

Monday through Friday: 8:00AM-8:00 PM
(classroom support line opens at 7:45am)
Saturday: 9:00AM-5:00PM
Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm

Contact Information

Email: help@smu.edu
Phone: 214-768-4357
Ticket System: help.smu.edu
In Person: Hughes Trigg Student Center

After hours emergency

Call the help desk number at 214-768-4357 and activate the emergency pager line.  This notifies the help desk consultant on call as well as the Director of Customer Service.

Additional Information

Printing issues/requests:  email imagenet@smu.edu

IT Purchases (Hardware and Software only): techsales@smu.edu

The Cox IT Desk: The Cox IT Desk will continue to serve the Cox community for checking out equipment and general assistance.  They are open Monday- Thursday from 7:30am- 9:30pm, Friday 7:30am-5:00pm, and Saturday from 7:30am-3:30pm.

As with any transition, some modifications may be needed.  We promise to address issues as quickly as possible.  Your feedback on requests for assistance is greatly appreciated can easily be done by replying to the ticket survey. You are also welcome to contact Help Desk Manger Lauren Nelson or the Director of Customer Service, Rachel Mulry, with any feedback.

Service Desk Quarterly Reports

Since a majority of the help requests are captured within our help desk ticketing system, we have access to a large amount of data regarding the types of issues or requests being made on a regular basis. Although the ticket metrics do not provide a comprehensive picture of the work being done by IT, it does provide some valuable information about trends, typical response times and areas for improvement.

A few weeks ago, a report was sent to each of the schools capturing some general information and metrics gleaned from the ticket system as well as key highlights from the shared services transition.  The metrics presented can serve simply as a baseline for understanding service levels.  After producing the initial report, we’ve identified several processes where we need to report in much more detail to capture the actual service level.  So adjustments are being made so the data will be more meaningful to the campus community.

For example, a single account request may involve up to 14 different sub-tickets before it is complete.  The response time in the reports capture the average time to resolve an account issue but does not take into account how many subtickets are involved!  So in future reports, I hope to illustrate how long it takes for each subgroup to process their portion or how long it takes for access to each system.

The first reports are now available for the SMU Community. It is our goal to share our progress as we implement and improve this shared services model.  This report will be published on a quarterly basis. To access the report, visit www.smu.edu/OIT/AboutUs/SharedServices.