Updated Services Portal FAQ


The University has released a new Services Portal, which merges the Shared Services Portal and the IT Services Portal into a single combined platform. The portal has two views: one for guests and visitors and one for faculty, students, and staff. 

Contents

Why are there two separate views (Guest and Authenticated)?

The Guest and Authenticated views serve to increase the security and accessibility of the services provided by the University of Chicago. The guest portal does not require user authentication and can be accessed by anyone. It contains support resources such as knowledge base articles, service overviews, and a very limited amount of request forms that can be submitted and viewed without users logging in. This means that information on the guest portal is viewable in search engine results but information restricted to only the private view is not accessible on the web without user authentication.

The authenticated portal requires user authentication to safeguard user and University information. This view provides users with unrestricted access to all University support resources. It also allows users to save drafts of request forms, favorite relevant knowledge base articles and forms, and browse through a plethora of topics that cater to faculty, students, and staff.

View our video on the differences between Guest and Authenticated views.

Does the new Services Portal change the security and privacy of tickets?

No. There is no change in the safety and security of confidential information in tickets.

What's new in the portal?

The private portal has a streamlined layout so that it is easy to find which services you need. Several topics have been regrouped to allow users to search for very specific topics and support resources. The search functionality is improved, once again, making it easier to find what you are looking for. Additionally, users are now able to save incomplete request forms as drafts with the Save As Draft function. Users are also able to favorite items like bookmarks in a web browser for easier access to their frequently used or relevant items. You can also view a video explanation in the ServiceNow Unified Portal Video [2:39].

How do I log in?

  1. On the Services Portal, select the Log in button in the top right corner.
  2. Enter your CNetID username and password to log in, followed by two-factor authentication if necessary.

How do I favorite a form or knowledge base article?

After logging into the Services Portal:

  1. Find a request or article you wish to favorite.
  2. Select the heart icon in the top right.
  3. Select My Favorites in the top right header to view your favorite articles or forms.

How do I get to My Favorites?

After logging into the Services Portal:

  1. Select My Favorites in the top right corner to view your favorites.

How do I find My Drafts?

After logging into the Services Portal:

  1. Select My Requests located in the top right corner.
  2. Select the Drafts tab.

How do I view my submitted tickets?

After logging into the Services Portal:

  1. Select My Requests located in the top right corner.
  2. All the tickets that you have submitted are displayed.
  3. Additionally, you can select My Watched Items to view requests that have added you to the watchlist.

For more information, please watch the Using My Requests on the Services Portal video [7:01].

I work on tickets in ServiceNow, does this affect anything I do?

No. The changes only affect the customer's view of the portal but there are no changes to the fulfiller view in backend of ServiceNow. Fulfillers are still able to handle tickets as they usually do and everything in the backend is still the same.

How do I navigate to the authenticated view in ServiceNow?

Now that the new portal has unified the previous IT and Services portals, these options are no longer available in ServiceNow. To access the authenticated view, 

  1. Enter "Services Portal" into the filter navigator.
  2. Select Services Portal.

The Guest view can only be accessed in an incognito tab or as an unauthenticated user in a separate window. It is not accessible from inside ServiceNow.

I had the IT Portal favorited in the filter navigator, does this link still work?

Yes. If you favorited the IT Portal within the application navigator before the new portal launched, this link will still work. However, it is recommended that you rename the favorite to "Services Portal", to avoid confusion in the future.

Who designed the look of the authenticated view?

IT Services engaged a partner to conduct a User Experience assessment of the ITS ServiceNow portal. The assessment included various activities to evaluate our existing portals and understand the unique needs of faculty, staff, and students. Additionally, IT Services used our partner's design recommendation within the technical capabilities of ServiceNow to arrive at the final design that accommodates the needs and accessibility guidelines of our University.

Where can I give feedback about this design?

Guest users can comment at the bottom of this article.

Authenticated users can use the Provide Feedback option on the left hand side of every page.

Need Help?

View the New Features in the Services Portal knowledge base article for more information.