College of Education and Human Development

College of Education and Human Development
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5229 USA
Main office:  (269) 387-2960
Student services: (269) 387-3474

Service Level Expectations

This Service Level Expectation document is intended to define the following: 

  • A high-level description of services provided by the Office of Educational Technology Services (ETS). 
  • The responsibilities of ETS.
  • When and how to contact ETS. 
  • The incident/case process and guidelines. 

The content of this document is subject to modifications in response to changes in technology services/support needs and will remain in effect until revised or terminated. 

Fully Supported Services 

ETS provides full support for college-owned computers. "Fully supported" means that ETS will make every attempt to perform any steps they are responsible for, with the expectation that they will perform one of the following: 

  • Resolve the issue, including coordinating warranty support
  • Completing the case/service request 
  • Escalating it to the appropriate person or group for resolution or completion 

Desktop Software 

  • Browser troubleshooting 
  • University-owned and licensed software 
  • Application execution troubleshooting 

Services with Limited Support 

ETS provides limited support to connect personal devices to the university’s virtual private network (VPN). "Limited support" means that ETS will determine the level of support they can provide, which includes the following: 

  • Providing the customer with standard instructions or guides such as self-help documentation for solution. 
  • Redirecting the customer to another resource for assistance with their case/service request. (see Referral services below for more information) 

Referral Services 

"Referral" means ETS does not support the requested service; therefore, the customer will be referred to another resource (e.g., Help Desk, Instructional Technology Center, or another unit) for assistance with the case/service request. Referral services include, but are not limited to: 

  • University provided storage access 
  • Creating, uploading and maintaining web pages 
  • Navigation assistance for any software or application 
  • Account activation, maintenance, or login troubleshooting of software or applications supported and managed by the Office of Information Technology (OIT) or another unit.

ETS Responsibilities 

ETS is a central point of contact for college specific assistance with supported services listed in this document. Responsibilities and requirements of ETS include: 

  • Interact with the college and university communities in a respectful and courteous manner. 
  • When possible, resolve the problem or complete the service request on first contact.
  • Work with the customer to accurately and thoroughly document the incident description, comments, and resolution. 
  • Make a reasonable effort to ensure the customer's data is not lost.
  • When necessary, escalate, assign, or refer the case to the appropriate area. 
  • Make every effort to respond to and resolve all cases assigned to ETS. 
  • Communicate updates and resolutions to service requests and or cases via email, or through the Case Management System (CMS).

Educational Technology Services Case Management System process 

When an incident or request for service is reported and needs a higher level of service our team will be responsible to reassign the user-initiated case or to create a case within the CMS if one does not exist and assign it to the appropriate party. The actual response time may vary depending on the volume of cases, the availability of resources, and the accuracy and completeness of the information provided. We strive to follow all guidelines and prioritize cases accordingly. Once a case is created the customer will be notified via email and as updates and resolutions take place on this case the customer will be notified. 

  • Prioritization of the case will be done when creating the case (e.g., service or application is not working, network is down) these would be put on high priority. 
  • Creation and assignment of the case will be done by ETS. We strive to create cases that include all pertinent information for the quickest resolution. 
  • Escalation of cases will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. 
  • Tracking and reporting cases 

After-Hours Support 

An after-hours help desk, sponsored by the Office of Information Technology, provides support for Elearning issues when ETS and the on-campus help desk is closed. Please note that other types of issues will be escalated to ETS and/or the on-campus help desk for resolution during normal business hours. To reach the after-hours help desk, call (269) 387-4357. You can also create a case online and you will receive a response the next business day.