Self-service portal solves the forgotten password dilemma
Christopher Wiggins · 2012
The number of online students at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) was growing rapidly, and the university's policy of requiring on campus, in person only password resets was no longer feasible. Not only did the policy need to be updated, the tools utilized by the Help Desk also required a refresh. The demand for Help Desk support was growing faster than current procedures could handle, topping off at 2,000 reset requests each month. Additionally, a state/system-wide policy change mandated password resets every 90 days, causing requests to skyrocket and demand to grow faster than current processes could accommodate. UCCS wanted to begin exploring and adopting some basic ITIL best practices, as well as an automated password recovery system. The Help Desk needed to become more than just password resets and common break fix issues. The goal was to offer services that would minimize technology related downtime across the campus. Through the implementation of service management software, including a self-service password recovery function, from Cherwell Software, the university's password reset requests dramatically decreased by 63 percent within several weeks.