Online Support Center (OSC) Information

The new Online Support Center for CougarVIEW (Vista) - available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - is the official Help Desk for the University System of Georgia, and therefore, for CSU.  They are tasked with providing support to students, staff, and faculty regarding any and all questions pertaining to CougarVIEW (Vista) and/or eCore.  The OSC should be your first stop when you have a question.

The OSC is the one-stop shop for both faculty and staff who need help using Vista.  It is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week with highly trained help desk personnel who are subject matter experts in Vista.  You can reach the OSC via the internet through numerous links on the CSU CougarVIEW site, within CougarVIEW itself, or by typing in the URL: http://help.view.usg.edu.  Please write this link down and keep it handy.

This OSC resource contains a library of literally hundreds of searchable articles relating to known issues & possible solutions.  It is highly recommended that all support seekers start by using the keyword search function, and reviewing KB articles.  Many regard this as an extra step, and may feel they don't have time to do this, but it's the best initial strategy.  Here's why:  If you opt to call, chat, or submit a ticket to the OSC before reviewing possible solutions in the KB, the OSC helpdesk representative will most probably respond by referring you back to KB informational articles.  If you have all ready read any KB articles pertaining to your problem (and they haven't helped, or they aren't clear), tell the OSC helpdesk representative this, up front.  This will save everyone time.  The OSC helpdesk can then go over further details with you, collect additional information, or escalate your question to a higher-level support representative.

It is very important to identify yourself accurately to the OSC helpdesk when you contact them.  They will usually ask you for these details, but at least make sure they know:

• Who are you?
• Which institution are you from?  Are you calling as a faculty/student from MGC, or are you calling as an eCore instructor/student?
• What is your phone number & e-mail address?

The OSC strongly recommend (and many institutes mandate) that only official campus e-mail addresses be used to communicate official information.  An email address like 'kittycat@gmail.com' isn't very informative, and they will want to ensure that potentially sensitive information is sent to an authentic user.

Using the OSC chat function is convenient for many users.  If your problem is not solved during your chat session with an OSC representative, please request that your chat issue be turned into a ticket.  This will allow an ongoing documentation of your issue, contact info, and resolution history.  Once you logoff the chat session, if your problem has not been solved, there's a good chance it won't be!

When finishing a chat or phone call with the OSC, the most important thing to do is to understand & articulate:

• What is supposed to happen next?
• Are you supposed to contact the OSC with additional information, or after you've tried some bit of advice, or are they supposed to get back in touch with you?
• When?
• How?

If the OSC gives you advice that does not help you solve your problem ... get back in touch with them ASAP!  If the OSC does not hear back from you after a few days, they may assume your problem is solved.  If your problem has not been solved, contact the OSC helpdesk again (please refer to your original OSC ticket number) and they will resume your support, escalating your case if necessary.