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Information Technology

SEMTE Support Services

At the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE), our IT Team supports the computing environment to further the teaching, research, and administrative functions of the school.

We provide information about the latest developments in computing technology to SEMTE faculty staff and students. Our goal is to stay up to date with all current and emerging technologies in order to remain a good resource for computer-related decisions. Along with providing assistance for technical problems, SEMTE IT is also the main contact for computer-related purchases.

If you are a staff or faculty member who needs IT Support for your current ASU-owned computer, please review the Service Request section. Personal devices are not supported.

Submit a Ticket

Faculty, Staff, and Student Workers IT Support

We have a full staff of team members to support you, so please avoid contacting IT team members individually and utilize one of the contact methods below to ensure we can address your support request quickly and efficiently.

Normal business hours support

After hours support

Academic Student IT Support

Student’s IT requests are supported by ASU’s Experience Center team. Salesforce is part of your Student My ASU Page (https://my.asu.edu) under the “Service Center” tab.

Student “Service Center” tab will open and students can submit a New Case. (New Request, please provide as much info as possible.

Computer Standards Policy

SEMTE IT is continually revising purchasing standards to comply with FSE and ASU policy and guidelines, the information below is subject to change at any time.

To streamline the level of support SEMTE, FSE, and ASU IT teams can provide to our users, we must focus on purchasing from our preferred “standard” computer manufacturers. Please review the FSE Computer Standards page.

  • Dell – OptiPlex, Latitude, and Precision lines.
  • Microsoft – Surface, Surface Pro, and Surface Book.
  • Apple – Mac mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and iMac.

Please review the following ASU/FSE Purchasing policies prior to submitting a ticket. To proceed, all purchases must be fully compliant with the following policies:


To help facilitate your request, contact our team to request a computer quote by completing the Quote Request form.

Provide your business needs and use cases to help our team build your computer with the ideal hardware specifications. If you are unsure, please provide us with any information about how the system functions (office system, Graphics/CAD system, computational, etc.)

SEMTE IT will attempt to create a quote using the SUNRISE system. If the requested hardware is unavailable on SUNRISE, SEMTE IT will make a best-effort attempt to mirror the purchasing request with available approved equipment through the SUNRISE system. Vendor sourcing exception approval can be made at the sole discretion of SEMTE IT.

A security review may be required for any system not within the pre-approved standard list or based on the type of data being processed. If a security review is needed, it will delay the process.

After the security review PDF ( if needed ) and your quote are completed, you must forward these documents in an email to your BOS/BOM for processing. SEMTE purchasing guidelines state that equipment should be purchased exclusively through SUNRISE, and only from other vendors if there is no alternative available. They will reach out to you for account selection to complete the purchase.

Exceptions

In the rare event that the requested equipment does not meet FSE/SEMTE purchasing policies and requirements, exceptions can be made at the discretion of the current IT leadership and School Director. Please refer to the Engineering Technical Service “Exceptions” section.

Exceptions to the standard must include:

  • Technical Justification – evaluated based on documented manufacturer’s technical requirements for hardware, software, and peripherals.
  • Legal or other requirements – evaluated based on technical, cost, or other factors identified by the request initiator with approval as needed.
  • Information relating to steps that would be made to mitigate any security risks to the university.

Off-Campus Use of Equipment Authorization

Laptops, tablets, and smart devices may be taken off campus only after the Off-Campus Equipment Loan form has been approved and submitted. ( for more info see Property Control System Manual )

File Sharing

Some users have been sharing files with third party vendors such as Egnyte and personal Dropbox. Many of these sites are not FERPA compliant and should never be used to store personal or sensitive information.

If you would like to share files, please Adhere to the Data Handling standards matrix found here.

Mobile Devices

It is required that SEMTE faculty and staff protect their mobile devices (smart phones, tablets, and laptops) with password protection and encryption if these devices receive work sensitive information.

Encryption

In order to be compliant with ASU policy, faculty and staff are required by the university to implement encryption and other standard security measures on all devices accessing the ASU network. Many ASU personnel routinely handle sensitive information including Personally Identifiable Information (PII), student records, health records, financial records, and research data. Federal laws, state statutes, and industry standards apply civil penalties for failure to protect sensitive information adequately. Encryption plays a key role in keeping information safe by ensuring that it can’t be obtained through theft or eavesdropping.

Elevate Admin

Elevate Admin is an application to temporarily grant faculty & staff administrative level user account access on a local workstation (asurite account is elevated to admin temporarily), notify an IT unit, and document the elevated permission. Faculty & staff can use this application when currently logged-in as a non-administrative user to perform administrative tasks on the local computer.

This application was developed by Engineering Technical Services in the Fulton Schools to assist IT units with departmental compliance of the Information Security Office’s Privileged Accounts Standard, which assists in establishing acceptable practices that support ACD125 as it applies to accounts with privileged access.

ASURITE Password requirements

In order to set a password, you must meet the minimum requirement of 10 characters containing at least one character from 3 of the 4 possible character types:

  • a lowercase letter
  • an uppercase letter
  • a number
  • a special character, including: ! % * _ – + = : . / ?

 Password services

PC Maintenance Window

SEMTE PCs receive Windows patches weekly Tuesday nights from 10 pm – 6 am on Wednesdays. If the PC is off-campus it should ideally be connected to the VPN during this time to maximize connectivity to our management infrastructure.

FSE & ASU Endpoint Management Policies ( links for full set )

https://ets.engineering.asu.edu/standards/fse-computer-standards/

https://uto.asu.edu/security-policies/policies

Software is available from many different sources at ASU. Some are site-licensed and free for everyone to use, some are available at a reduced price, and some are available through remote access. Please read the agreement terms for the licensed software since some software has restricted usage and specific terms that must be adhered to.

To review available software managed by Engineering Technical Services, please review the Software Hub.

Fulton Domain

ASU-owned computers connected to the Fulton domain with the Software Center (SCCM) client have access to download a number of programs. For additional details on SCCM, please review the Software Center overview.

To download available software through SCCM on WIndows 10/11:

  • Start menu -> Microsoft System Center -> Configuration Manager -> Software Center

My Apps

Go to My ASU and select My Apps for a number of commonly used programs provided by ASU

Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA)

All FSE faculty, staff, and students have access to the MSDNAA, which provides many Microsoft products free of charge (for instructional use).

Software Security Review

To protect university data and assets, Arizona State University (ASU) requires all departments that purchase or implement software or technology solutions to adhere to appropriate security controls. As part of this commitment, a mandatory Vendor Risk Assessment (VITRA) must be completed for all new hardware and software—this includes cloud-based services, SaaS solutions, and any software intended for use within ASU’s network environment.

The purpose of the Vendor Risk Assessment is to evaluate potential security risks and ensure the continued integrity of ASU’s systems and data. For more information, please visit the Get Protected website.

If you require software that is not currently available through SCCM or My Apps, please submit an internal Security Review request. Our team will assist you through the assessment process to ensure compliance with university security standards.

SEMTE IT supports machines tagged with an ASU property control number. You may also contact SEMTE IT to obtain quotes and request software. When requesting SEMTE IT support, please include the property control number of your computer, include some detail so we know how best to help you, and provide your contact information.

See the SEMTE IT Service Request section of this page for information on submitting a request.

Internet Connectivity

If you suspect that the problem is with your internet connection, please check the ASU System Health page for outage reports. If a general outage is not listed, then report your problem by submitting a service request.

Online Help

ASU provides many help guides and trouble-shooting information for various programs such as Blackboard, Outlook, and PeopleSoft. Search the “IT Help Articles/Knowledgebase” sections of the Service Tab on your My ASU Page.

Personal Equipment

SEMTE IT only provides service to ASU owned computers. Personal computer equipment and accessories that are not purchased via SEMTE Business office are not supported.