What is the Virtual Class Emergency Line?
The Virtual Class Emergency Support Line is available Monday - Thursday from 6-9pm EST for faculty and students to report an emergency for a virtual class (online session) that is in progress.
Call 717.901.5166 to leave a message reporting the emergency for the virtual class that is in progress. An agent will reply to you as soon as possible.
Please reserve this phone line urgent issues for a virtual class that is in progress. Examples of urgent vs. non-urgent help is detailed below.
Type of Help | Contact Method | Examples |
URGENT (anything preventing learning from occurring in the moment of the online session) | Virtual Class Emergency Support Line 717.901.5166 available Monday – Thursday, from 6-9 pm EST | Faculty microphone not working, Faculty unable to share slides/screen, Faculty unable to enter classroom, Student unable to enter the classroom etc. |
Non-urgent (anything that can be handled outside of the online session) | Non-urgent questions, submit a ticket through OIS Freshdesk support page https://ithelp.harrisburgu.edu/support/home | Student microphone not working, Questions on tool functionality etc. |
What Immediate Actions Can I Take to Resolve My Issue?
While reported emergencies are infrequent, here are the most common issues you may experience in attending or conducting virtual classes through Microsoft Teams Classes.
User Type | Issue | Action(s) | Unresolved Issue |
Student/Faculty | Microsoft Teams Classes link from Canvas is not working | Load the Microsoft Teams desktop application directly and search for the meeting in the Class Team that is aligned with the course. If you do not see the meeting posted in the Class Team, check the Teams calendar. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, call the emergency line 717.901.5166 to report the issue. Leaving a detailed message will generate a ticket. |
Student/Faculty | Microsoft Teams application is not working | The Microsoft Teams web app is not generally recommended; however, it may be used if the desktop application is not working. Try to see if you can get the web app or mobile app working. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, call the emergency line 717.901.5166 to report the issue. Leaving a detailed message will generate a ticket. |
Student | Student is unable to see the virtual class session meeting link posted in the Microsoft Teams Class | If the virtual class meeting link is not posted in the Class Team, check the Microsoft Teams calendar. The instructor may have scheduled the meeting from the Teams calendar rather than from the Class Team. If you do not see the meeting, reach out to the faculty member directly via Teams chat to see if they can invite you to the session in progress. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, call emergency line 717.901.5166 to report the issue. Leaving a detailed message will generate a ticket. |
Faculty | No students are showing up. | Verify that meeting was set up correctly by accessing the specific MS Team aligned with the class, and that the ‘schedule a meeting’ option has been used. Other methods will cause problems. If all else fails, try to schedule a meeting in Outlook with an MS Teams option and invite all your students manually. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, follow up with a ticket to the IT Helpdesk to check configuration in following days. |
Faculty | Unable to use mic or screenshare. | If a faculty member is unable to use a mic or screenshare this is a show stopper. First make sure that you are using the desktop application. If using the desktop application and still having issues, make sure that privacy settings allow MS Teams to access these function. If still having issues try other devices. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, call the emergency line 717.901.5166 to report the issue. Leaving a detailed message will generate a ticket. |
Student | Unable to use mic or webcam. | Make sure that the desktop application is in use and not the ‘web’ or ‘browser’ version of MS Teams. If using the desktop version, verify that the machine’s privacy settings are allowing MS Teams to use the mic/webcam resources. If still no success, try different devices or machines if available. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, follow up with a ticket to the IT Helpdesk to check configuration in following days. |
Faculty | Unable to use webcam. | Make sure that you are using the desktop application. Make sure that your system’s privacy settings allow MS Teams to use the webcam. Try different devices. If not successful continue delivering lecture without webcam and send a ticket to OIS so they can check the equipment in the following days. | If the suggested action(s) do not resolve the issue, follow up with a ticket to the IT Helpdesk to check configuration in following days. |