CAL Systems Support Group
Gregory Martin, Coordinator
Help Desk: (619) 594-5845
The Systems Support Group provides on-site assistance on University-owned computer hardware and software within the College of Arts and Letters. Support is provided to Faculty, Staff and computer laboratories in the College of Arts and Letters only.
CAL Help Desk
Office: PSFA 127
Phone: (619) 594-5845 (voicemail available after hours)
E-Mail:
calhelp@mail.sdsu.edu
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm; Weekends and Holidays Closed
The CAL Help Desk is exclusively for College of Arts and Letters faculty and staff. The CAL Help Desk is the first place to call with any computer-related services such as:
Services:
- Configuration
- Troubleshooting
- Diagnosis and Combat of Computer Viruses
- Hardware/Software Installation
- Upgrades (Proof of Ownership Required)
- Interoperability Problems
- Procurement Advice (Hardware Only)
- File Recovery
Hardware Repair
If the problem is determined to be hardware repair, the work order will be forwarded to the appropriate vendor. The Systems Support Group technician will act as a liaison between the college and vendor. All computer hardware and software problems must initially go through the CAL Help Desk at 594-5845.
Remote Access
For Remote Access questions, contact Telecommunications and Network Services (TNS) directly at 594-5261.
Procedure for Requesting Service
Work order forms must be filed to request work. A work order may be submitted by calling 594-5845 or visiting the CAL Help Desk in PSFA-127.
Software Installation Policy
All software:
- For College of Arts and Letters faculty and staff only
- For state-owned equipment only
Microsoft Software Products
The Microsoft Agreement provides prepaid licenses to faculty and staff for a variety of software -- Office, Front Page, Publisher, and Visual Studio.NET -- and is in effect from January 2006 through the end of 2008.
Other Software:
Our technicians must observe the copyright laws pertaining to software as intellectual property. Proof of purchase must be shown to the technician in order for software to be installed. If no purchase order is available, the department administrative coordinator must fill out a software release form.
In some cases, the department must provide the installation kit and complete documentation on how to install the software. In the event the software kit is lost, the administrative coordinator must contact the vendor for a replacement installation kit.
Lab Software Guidelines
Faculty who wish to purchase software for instructional labs must first contact the coordinator for the lab.
Before any software (including browser add-ins and plug-ins) will be installed on any instructional lab computers, it must be tested and approved by the Systems Support Group for compatibility issues. Therefore, prior to purchasing any software for instructional labs, the lab coordinator must submit a request in writing to Gregory Martin for approval of the software along with the software to be tested. (Sample or trial versions may be used for testing prior to purchase of software).
For software purchases, the following number of licenses are required for the following areas:
- Arts & Letters: (includes PSFA 116, PSFA 126, PSFA 136 and AL 106) = 115
- Sociology: (SH 242) = 25
- RWS: (includes AH 3137 and AH 3140) = 48
- Anthropology: (AL 104) =18
Software licenses must be purchased with a single license code for the total number of copies to be installed per application.
Deadlines to request new software to be tested and possibly installed are May 15th for the fall semester and October 1st for the spring semester. Coordinators are responsible for notifying their departments of these deadlines.
If software is approved, software and license must be given to the SSG by June15th for the fall semester and by November 1st for the spring semester.
