The Information Technology (IT) staff of the Department of Psychology is chartered to provide quality service in response to IT service requests for hardware and software within the Department of Psychology. This document sets out the service policy. IT staff will provide advice on any of these articles as required.

1. The priority of handling service requests reflects the importance of each request to the functioning of the Department as decided by the Systems Manager. All service requests must be addressed to ithelp at psych.mcgill.ca. It is important to realize that many IT problems require some research before the service can be completed. Thus service requests may sometimes not be completed as quickly as expected or hoped for.
    

2. Users should back up any relevant data before submitting a computer for service, regardless of the nature of the problem. Optimally, this backup would be done on a regular basis before serious problems arise. It is recommended that all computers have an image recovery system enabling restoration of the system to its preferred state; this can be provided by IT staff for a small license fee.
    

3. Any IT equipment submitted for service should be accompanied by relevant documentation and CDs. If this material is not submitted, IT staff will try to locate it, but users should realize that this may not be possible and may cause delays.
    

4. Users are reminded that article 4 of McGill’s computing Code of Conduct specifies that users shall “Respect the copyrights of the owners of all software and data they use.”
    

5. If a machine is to be serviced on site, e.g., in a user’s office or laboratory, sufficient space must be cleared for the work by the person making the service request.
    

6. If IT service is impeded by user constraints (e.g., a computer is unavailable to IT staff because it is needed in running experiments), this service task will be rescheduled in order to proceed with other service requests that can be more promptly dealt with.
    

7. It is recommended that planned IT purchases within the Department should be brought to the attention of the IT staff for issues of compatibility and quality.
    

8. Any requests for new network connections must be approved by a Faculty member or by the Administrative Officer of the Department.
    

9. Installation of a software driver on student computers for using Departmental printers must be approved by a Faculty member.
    

10. Faculty members should order printer cartridges through their secretaries.
     

11. It is strongly recommended, both by McGill and by Departmental IT staff, that all computers connected to our network have up-to-date antivirus protection. Our IT staff can install the McGill-licensed Trend Micro Internet Security software for free; this particular program is strongly recommended and is supported.
     

12. Wireless connections, dialup connections (including DAS), high-speed connections, and virtual private networks are supported by McGill’s NCS. E-mail addresses outside of psych.mcgill.ca are not supported by Department IT staff.
     

13. All IP addresses used in the department are assigned by the Systems Manager. Users are required to use only their assigned IP address on the network without exceptions (each assigned IP address is specific to a network jack in the department). Relocation of computers on the network must be pre-approved by the Systems Manager.
     

14. Any offering of internet services (e.g., FTP, Telnet, web pages) on client computers requires prior approval of the Systems Manager.