Tech Alerts

When traveling internationally, there are a few important steps that faculty and staff members must take to ensure FDU does not incur unnecessary costs related to their university-issued cell phones.

The most important action is to notify our Voice Services team about your travel plans. This should be done by submitting the Mobile Device Request & Feature Change Form at least one week prior to traveling. Once Voice Services receives the form, they will ensure that the appropriate international feature—formerly called an international plan—is added to your device. The form also creates a line of communication with Voice Services so they can inform you of the applicable rates, voice and text limits, and any unique circumstances associated with your international travel.

When traveling internationally, turn off “cellular data roaming” on university devices that do not have an international feature enabled. Consider leaving unneeded devices, such as iPads and Mi-Fi units, at home. Unless your device is completely powered off or data roaming is disabled, it will still generate data traffic in the background.

International phone costs can add up quickly, so your proactive steps while traveling are appreciated.

During the Fall semester, OIRT Computing Services noticed a series of easily preventable technology issues in classrooms and event spaces. If you conduct classes or host events using Zoom carts, projectors, screens, or any other FDU-provided technology, we recommend reviewing our new article:

This article is a quick read filled with helpful guidance to ensure you’re both a considerate host to your students or participants and a respectful user of shared spaces for those who come after you.

Softdocs has corrected the issue and access to Etrieve is now available.

Softdocs is experiencing a major outage and is currently unable to all users.

I will send an update as soon as this has been resolved.

Starting on Sunday, January 18 at 11:00 PM Eastern and continuing through 2:00 AM the following morning, FDU will be performing network maintenance. During this maintenance window, on-campus users may experience brief, sporadic internet disruptions, and off-campus users may encounter momentary interruptions when using the FDU VPN.

SoftDocs Etrieve Central will have a new look starting January 1, 2026. The new experience will fully replace the legacy version and introduce a modernized interface that offers a refreshed design, improved navigation, and a more intuitive user experience aimed at helping users work faster and more efficiently.

You can explore the new experience now by clicking the “Try New Central” button in the top right-hand corner of Etrieve Central. You can also view this three-minute SAMI Short tutorial video.

If you experience any issues after the upgrade, create a support request through SAMI Support.

Starting on Friday, December 19 at 11:00 PM Eastern and continuing through 2:00 AM the following morning, FDU will be performing network maintenance.

During this maintenance window, on-campus users may experience brief, sporadic internet disruptions, and off-campus users may experience momentary disruptions to the FDU VPN.

The launch day has arrived for our new in-house IT support team, the SAMI Service Desk. While we have kept the university informed of this change over the past few weeks, now is an excellent time to focus on a few key elements of this transition and what it means to our community.

Hours

The SAMI Service Desk is operational between 8 AM and 8 PM, Monday through Friday. You can create a support request at any time, including after hours, on weekends, and on holidays. Your request will enter our queue and our team will respond promptly on the next business day.

To optimize your support experience, it is helpful to understand the four ways to open a support request and when to use each method.

SAMI Support Portal

This is our primary and most feature-rich support method, offering access to the knowledge base and your support history.

SAMI Support

Email Support

Emailing SAMISupport@fdu.edu is a strong alternative when using the portal is not practical. Your request will be immediately added to the queue.

Public Form

As noted in yesterday’s alert, this form supports users who cannot validate their identity (ID issues, locked accounts, etc.) but still need to open a request online.

Phone Support

When calling, you will be greeted by our new virtual agent, which will collect basic information including your seven-digit FDU ID number, located on the back of your Fairleigh 1Card. The virtual agent will provide level-one assistance and, if needed, route your call to a team member during business hours. While helpful for those unable to use online methods, this should not be your first-choice option.

When a ticket is closed, you will be given the opportunity to provide feedback. In this moment, that feedback is essential. We will closely monitor community input and adjust our processes over the coming weeks and months.

We believe deeply in the talented team of staff members and FDU students we have assembled. As with any deployment of this scale, some growing pains are expected. Bear with us as our Service Desk team gains experience and as we improve our processes.

(973)-443-8822

The new SAMI Service Desk, which will be fully operational as of December 4th, will be structured to prioritize requests submitted electronically. This includes tickets entered via our SAMI Support Portal and emails sent to samisupport@fdu.edu.

In addition to these options, there is an online request form, called the Public Form, which is intended to be used when the SAMI Support Portal is unavailable due to any of the following reasons:

• Lack of a valid University-issued NetID
• Inability to authenticate through DUO
• No DUO account
• Vendors without a University-issued NetID
• Newly admitted students
• Newly hired employees and adjuncts
• Locked FDU account
• NetID password resets (after attempting to go through identity.fdu.edu)

You can access the form by clicking the blue support icon at the top of of this website and then selecting “Public Form”

Once you reach the form, complete the requested fields and click “Submit”

While SAMISupport.fdu.edu remains the best option for most use cases, the Public Form is a quick, easy, and invaluable resource when needed.

Phone support via (973)-443-8822 will still be available as a legacy option. Calls will be answered by a virtual agent, who will attempt to assist you before transferring you to the Service Desk.

This update highlights the electronic-first approach of the new SAMI Service Desk.

As previously announced, December 4th will mark the official launch of our new IT support team, the SAMI Service Desk. This journey began as a trial at the start of the fall semester. As our launch date approaches, here are some additional considerations:

In our new Service Desk, most of our agents are dedicated to handling issues submitted through the SAMI Support Self-Service portal and email. This differs from our previous UTAC Helpdesk model. While phone support will remain an option, the portal and email are now the most efficient ways to engage with the Service Desk.

If you choose to call, the virtual agent will first verify your identity by asking for your FDU ID number. This is the 7-digit number located on the back of your Fairleigh 1Card. Have that number ready when calling.

If you missed the original Tech Alerts sent on 11/17 and 11/24, you can watch the SAMI Short below, or continue reading.

The SAMI Service Desk is staffed with a full-time dedicated supervisor, two full-time agents, and seven student interns rotating shifts throughout the day. Tickets can be submitted through our self-service portal at SAMISupport.fdu.edu. If you are unable to log in to the portal, you can use our public form by clicking the blue support icon at on this website.

Submitting tickets through the portal or public form is the quickest and easiest way to get support. Since the trial began, tickets submitted this way have had an average first response time of 38 minutes.

The second quickest method is to email samisupport@fdu.edu, which replaces fdutac@fdu.edu.

If neither of these options works for you, you can call the SAMI Support Line at (973)-443-8822. Below are some changes you’ll notice when calling for support starting December 4th:

1. The phone line will initially be answered by a Virtual Agent. Since the Virtual Agent must identify the user in the SAMI system, have your 7-digit FDU ID number ready when you call. This number is located on your FDU ID card.
2. The Virtual Agent will then ask a series of questions to help resolve your issue.
3. If the issue is resolved by the Virtual Agent, a closed SAMI ticket will serve as a record of the call. If it cannot be resolved, the call and an open SAMI ticket will be transferred to the Service Desk.
4. The new Service Desk hours of operation are 8 AM to 8 PM ET, Monday through Friday. Calls received after hours, on weekends, and during holidays will be recorded by the Virtual Agent. SAMI tickets will be opened and queued for follow-up on the next business day.
5. There will be automatic escalation to after-hours support personnel for urgent issues, such as system outages or weekend classroom incidents.

While the team’s handling of samisupport.fdu.edu and samisupport@fdu.edu requests has exceeded expectations, integrating the virtual agent and new contact center systems with our SAMI environment introduces a level of complexity. If your only option is to call, be aware that we may need to adjust some workflows in the first few weeks. Our team has made tremendous progress and is committed to making the SAMI Service Desk a significant improvement over our previous support model.