How to Submit a ctcLink Support Ticket

Purpose:  This document provides the steps and links to submit a support ticket.

Audience:  College Staff

SBCTC Service Desk

College Staff designated explicitly by ctcLink College Leaders as ticket submitters will access the SBCTC Service Desk and be required to log in with their ctcLink credentials.  

Before submitting an incident ticket, it is best to clear your cache when accessing each browser's environment(s). This eliminates the possibility that your cache could cause the issue.

Supporting Information:

  • Your college's ctcLink College Leader determines which college staff are designated ticket submitters and provides this information to Dani Rider and Roger Curry at SBCTC. 
  • Not sure who to work with? Please follow your college's communication best practices and reach out to your manager and/or ctcLink College Leader to determine if you have or should have access to submit tickets or if there is a designated ticket submitter for your college that you should coordinate with. 
  • Know Your Limits. For routing and ticket management purposes, we can only address one student (or issue) in a ticket.
  • Report duplicate records for only one student per ticket. We will close any tickets submitted with multiple students and ask you to resubmit separate tickets, one ticket for each student.
  • For SVR requests, please limit the ticket to one EMPLID.
  • For SXF tickets, please attach one file for each ticket and limit number of records reported on a file to 500 or fewer EMPLIDs.
  • Can’t Respond? If SBCTC created the ticket on your behalf and the ticket won’t let you respond, set the Customer Priority Level. This tends to be the solution.
  • Don’t Hide Your Response. Put your response where it says “Type your comment here.” Please don’t put your response in the Carbon copy box: We aren’t likely to see it.

It's All in the (Ticket) Details. Our ticket response and your ticket resolution are delayed when we need to request details or ask clarifying questions. Please help us by providing as much information as possible about your initial request. 

  • WHO is experiencing the issue that you are reporting? Just you? Everyone on campus? A specific student (if so, what is their EMPLID)? This helps us determine if it might be security and, if so, if we should look at a specific user's security or an entire security role.
  • WHAT settings were involved? If there is a query involved, what prompts were you using? If it's a process, we need screenshots of your run control. Save your time and ours by providing example EMPLIDs of students and/or staff experiencing the issue.
  • WHEN did this happen? When did you start noticing this?
  • WHERE are you experiencing this? Telling us the exact ctcLink page or location helps us in our attempts to recreate the issue and makes sure we are focusing on the right pages and processes. What environment were you in? What browser are you using?
  • WHY would you not include screenshots? Screenshots are AMAZING. Screenshots that show the browser window (not just a cropped screenshot of an error message or a value entered on a single field) are even better! Screenshots help us match the text in the ticket to what you/the user is seeing on the screen. You don't have to insert your screenshot into a Word document if you don't want to. Save it as a .jpeg or .png image and upload it to the ticket.
  • HOW have you already attempted to resolve this problem? Did you look at QRGs (which QRGs)? Canvas courses (which Canvas courses)? This helps us refine our training materials. It also prompts us to start with new rabbit holes (as opposed to following you down the ones you have already been explored). More importantly, you can solve problems using available resources, saving your time and our time!
  • WHICH ticket? This may sound silly, but it's true. It is NOT uncommon to hear a college has submitted a ticket or is waiting on a ticket response… only to find that no one submitted a ticket. Make sure you (or your colleague) have submitted the ticket you are waiting on, and record the ticket number! An email to someone at SBCTC is not a ticket. An email to a listserv is not a ticket. A discussion in a Webex or Zoom meeting is not a ticket. Only a ticket is a ticket :

Not All Details Should be Shared:

  • Always ask yourself: If it were MY data, how would you expect it to be treated? Give student data the same respect you would want for your own. Don't provide biodemo information unless it's specifically relevant to the issue you're reporting; we can see all of the biodemo information we need in ctcLink! Just provide us with an example of EMPLIDs.
  • Do not include SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS in tickets. We do not need or want to see student/employee SSNs in the original request details of the tickets. When an SSN is included in a ticket, we must take additional time to work with our administrators to remove it. If you need to provide more information about an SSN, use more discreet strategies, such as referring to "the SSN on X EMPLID," instead of providing full or partial SSNs in tickets.
  • Remember to adhere to FERPA regulations. 
  1. Access Service Desk ticketing system:  https://servicedesk.sbctc.edu/helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa.
  2. The Welcome page displays.
welcome message
  1. Below the welcome message is the Log In section.
  2. Enter ctcLink User Name.
  3. Enter Password.
  4. Select the Log In button.
Service Desk login section
  1. The Help Request page displays.
  2. Access the Request Type drop-down list by selecting the black down arrow and selecting ctcLink Support.
  3. Once ctcLink Support has been selected, a blank field will appear to the right of the ctcLink Support field.
  4. Access the drop-down list arrow in the blank field and select the appropriate module. Additional fields will appear depending on the module selected from the drop-down list. The information must be populated in the field(s) to progress to the following area.
Select the appropriate drop-down criteria

Here's a few navigation examples for the Finance related tickets:

  • Functional Finance Team: ctcLink Support > Finance > [select Finance Module i.e. General Ledger]
  • SBCTC Accounting Team: ctcLink Support > Finance > SBCTC Accounting
  • Training Team: ctcLink Support > Training > Finance > [select Finance Module i.e. Grants]
  1. Once the necessary drop-down fields have been populated, enter a Subject reflecting the purpose of your ticket.
  2. Below the Subject field, you will notice a blue box labeled Instructions. The instructions remind users to capture pop-ups, error messages, or web pages that display unexpected results.
  3. In the Request Detail section, enter the pertinent information in regards to the purpose of your ticket.
  4. Select a priority level.
    1. Low - Does not impact productivity, but it would be an improvement to productivity or not time-sensitive. (This is different from an enhancement request.)
    2. Medium - Work can continue, but the work is impaired. Production can proceed, but in a significantly impaired fashion.
    3. High - One or more pillars is not functioning. The issue is stopping the college from serving students or staff and/or not doing major functions, such as running payroll.
Help Request page with Customer Priority Level dropdown highlighting Medium

Ticket submissions should include the following information:

  1. Full screenshots--save screenshots as a PNG or JPG before uploading.
  2. URL and navigation.--navigation details should include the page(s) accessed through tiles or NavBar.
  3. Screenshots of run control parameters.
  4. Process instance number.
  5. EMPLIDs as examples--if multiple students, please include all IDs.
  6. Query names and prompts entered.
  7. Critical information--for example, Business Unit, Set ID, Institution ID, Aid Year.
  8. Steps taken to encounter the error.  
  9. Actions taken to solve the issue.
  10. Browser(s) you are using.
  11. What PeopleSoft environment(s)are you using? For example, are you using PRD or PCD?
  12. The number of people and departments at your campus experiencing the same issue, including associated information.

What to include in an accessibility-related ticket

If your ticket reports an accessibility issue, the following list is important information to include in your submission.

  1. Date of when the accessibility barrier occurred.
  2. Name and role of the person encountering the accessibility barrier.
  3. Description of the problem should include:
    1. Which ctcLink page were you on? (Copy and paste the URL from the address bar or type out the page's title.)
    2. What task or function were you trying to complete?
    3. What task or function were you unable to complete?
  4. Which type of Assistive Technology were you using? (For example, NVDA, Jaws, Dragon Voice Command, or VoiceOver on iPhone.)
  5. Were you using a PC or Mac computer?
  6. Which Internet browser type and version were you using? (For example, Chrome version 101.0.4951.41.)
  7. Were you using ctcLink on your desktop computer, or the ctcLink app on your phone or tablet?
  8. Which Internet browser and which version of the browser you were using?

  1. To include colleague(s) in the ticket, enter their email(s) in the Carbon Copy (Cc:) field and check the Enabled box. Note: Only authorized users in SolarWinds staff can view any notes and updates to the ticket.
  2. Next, select the Add File button to select the appropriate JPEG or PNG file by clicking the Choose File button.
  3. Once the file has been chosen, select Upload.
  4. You can verify the attached file located under the Add File button.
Request Detail boc with listed steps for ticket submission example

It is recommended to capture screenshots with a snipping tool (e.g., Snipping Tool or Snagit). A snipping tool provides a clear image, allowing the support team to quickly identify and troubleshoot the issue/error. Using the Print Screen button on your keyboard is not recommended.

  1. Press the drop-down list arrow in the field labeled Location. Select your institution and press the blue Save button in the lower-right corner of the screen.
  2. After pressing Save, a notification will appear in the middle of your screen confirming your ticket submission. A confirmation email will be sent to the address of the person submitting the ticket.
You will receive a confirmation once your ticket has been submitted
  1. Process is complete. Once ctcLink Support has received the ticket, updates will be communicated via a notification email. Then, you must log into the ticketing system to view any updates or responses.