Technology can be either a challenge or a blessing. When it works, its great. When it doesn’t, it’s enough to make a person pull their own hair out.

On campus, technology is a major factor in the way day-to-day business is conducted. In a survey of more than 800 undergraduate resident hall residents, University Housing found that about 96 percent of students have their own computers in their rooms. The increasing numbers of students who own their own computer shows the degree to which technology plays a role in education.

So when a grade-deciding paper is due in less than two hours and your computer crashes, where will you turn?

That’s where CITES, which stands for Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services, comes in. CITES is the provider of campus-wide computing, networking, telephone, and instructional technology services supporting academic activities of faculty, staff and students at the University, according to their Web site.

Kyle Braghini, sophomore in Engineering, has worked for the CITES Help Desk since fall 2005. The Help Desk offers certain services through walk-in, phone, and e-mail.

“We assist anyone on campus with technical issues,” Braghini said. “We can help anyone with a NetID, meaning anyone who is, or was at one point, affiliated with the University.”

Braghini said the Help Desk is most often used by students to deal with resetting passwords and setting up email clients, but there are other services offered. The Help Desk also distributes Antivirus software, offers data recovery services and software support.

Students in residence halls can also receive technical assistance from a NetTech by filling out an online help request. NetTechs are students who are trained to deal with networking issues that may arise.

“If you’re having trouble connecting to the internet (in a residence hall), or you’ve been locked out of the network for some reason, a NetTech can help you in the lab or in your room,” Braghini said.

CITES also controls the University email system, known as Express E-mail, and runs an online file storage system called Netfiles. Netfiles allows students, faculty and staff to access their files from anywhere in the world. Each NetID is allocated a certain amount of storage space, but more space can be requested through the Help Desk.

For more specific problems, CITES also operates a fee-based in-home consultation service.

So when the computer crashes with your precious paper stuck inside, where will you turn? One call to CITES may be able to clear up the problem and have you typing furiously once again.

CITES Help Desk

(217) 244-7000

For a full list of services offered by CITES, visit http://www.cites.uiuc.edu/services/index.html