The ITS Four Tiered Support Model

Overview

ITS provides user support for students, faculty, and staff at every one of the points of information technology (IT) access. To provide this support ITS developed the Four Tiered Support Model.

From it's incarnation the Support Model was structured from the viewpoint of users seeking support. Typically, a user who is having trouble with their CU technology would try to help themselves first. Thus, Tier 1 Support was established to provide self help documentation (online and in print), beginner's guides such as Getting Started with Campus Technology, and support and management of the ITS web site.

For faculty and staff, the second step in the Support Model, Tier 2 Support, allows users to contact their departmental support, otherwise known as their Distributed IT Representative. Distributed IT Representatives are part of the larger IT Support Community. This community also includes ITS Training and all four tiers of the ITS support model. Every semester the IT Support Community comes together for a conference on advances in campus technology and support.

Students, faculty, and staff can contact the IT Service Center which is one of the components of Tier 3 Support. The IT Service Center, which provides walk in and phone-in support, serves as a one-start contact point for all IT services, including telephony, computing, and media services. Other components comprising Tier 3 include Desktop Support, ETFS, PC Maintenance, and the Regent Hall Network Support (CVCN).

The final tier, Tier 4 Support, is comprised of core experts who develop and research the services that ITS provides such as e-mail, networking, telephony, university applications, and media production to name a few.

Customers enter the Support Model through either Tier 1, 2, or 3. Issues that aren't resolved at the third tier are referred onto Tier 4.

Surrounding the IT Support Model is ITS Training and ITS Communication.

ITS Training provides a variety of training opportunities for students, faculty and staff. This technology training includes Computer Quick Classes, Hands-on Workshops, Brown Bag Seminars, and management of the computer-based training tool SkillSoft.

ITS Communication works along side the whole of ITS to communicate technology initiatives, developments, policies, and upgrades to the campus body. Likewise it is the source of the latest ITS news and handles public relations.

Questions about the ITS Four Tiered Support Model can be directed to itsfeedback@colorado.edu

Get Help
IT Service Center
303-735-HELP (5-4357 from an on-campus phone)
help@colorado.edu