Computing Resources for Faculty
The university as a whole and the faculty specifically offer a range of services to support you in everything from installing a new piece of software to completing a research project which uses technology.
University Documents
University of Victoria Policy on Responsible Use of Information Technology (6030)
Support for Research or Teaching using Technology
The Humanities Computing and Media Centre of the Faculty of Humanities provides consulting, development, workstations, supervision or training of researchers, and other services to support research and teaching in the faculty of Humanities. The staff of three full-time consultant/developers can help you with the design, implementation or project management of everything from simple web-pages to full client-server research databases, specialized programs and multi-media projects. There is no cost to individual faculty members to use this service. For further information on the range of ways the HCMC can be of use to you, visit the HCMC website, phone 721-8294 or email Stewart at sarneil@uvic.ca.
Training on University Supported Software
The Online Learning Systems group of UVic's University Systems offers support and workshops on a range of software packages and services supported by the university. Costs for the workshops vary.
Computer Help Desk Services
The Computer Help Desk provides information and advice to members of the University for most campus computing resources. The Computer Help Desk also resolves problems and accepts work orders for computing equipment repair and network problems. When analysts are unable to provide instant answers, your query will be recorded and tracked in the Computer Help Desk Online Management and Event Recording System (HOMER). The request form is located at www.uvic.ca/systems/about/contact/. Clients may access their request any time for updates regarding their query or problem. Humanities clients may contact the Helpdesk for assistance using the DCST Request Tracker form at hdcst.uvic.ca/rt/ which links directly to HOMER, or they may call 721-7687 or visit the Computer Help Desk located in Clearihue A004.
The Computer Help Desk is open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. During this time, the Computer help Desk is staffed with between 3-6 people depending on anticipated call volumes. Supervisors are always accessible as a resource for consultants who may have question about Organizational policy or who may need to access computer resources in a different University of Victoria Systems unit. The Humanities desktop support transition project will implement the Computer Help Desk Remote Assistance too, as well as email, telephone and Computer Help Desk counter support services. Consultants will be available for onsite support visits when the need to physically access computing equipment arises. The Computer Help Desk remote assistance tool allows Computer Help Desk consultants to remotely support a client’s workstation or windows mobile device running Windows, Macintosh or Linux. This web based tool will give our consultants complete mouse and keyboard control on client workstations through any ACL or firewall and without an Administrator level account on the system. This tool greatly improves the quality and timeliness of support that our consultants provide to our clients whether they are on or off campus.
Computer Help Desk consultants are comprised of experienced and knowledgeable UVic Engineering students. The consultants utilize a wiki knowledge repository. Subject matter experts are available to our consultants as well as online technical resources to solve computing problems that arise within departments. The Computer Help Desk strives to answer all email and phone calls in a timely manner. When high call volume is experienced, tickets are prioritized and placed in a queue according to importance. With the Computer Help Desk’s extended hours Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., computer support is available before and after the standard working hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. of most departments.
The Computer Help Desk strives to maintain a core group of Macintosh experts as well as PC experts. The Computer Help Desk Manager and Senior Technical Analyst both operate and maintain Macintosh Computers and peripherals. Macintosh subject matter experts are available to Help Desk consultants should any questions arise that are not outlined in our knowledge base.