Cherwell FAQs
The Cherwell team will continue to post the most frequently asked questions as they arise. Refer to the IT Analyst Cherwell Quick Reference Guide if you don't see an answer to your question or contact itsm@vcu.edu for assistance.
You must change the status of a ticket from New to Active by clicking on Acknowledge under Actions. This will ensure that you can take further Actions on a ticket.
To send an email to the customer, you must use go to Email Requested By under Record Actions or include the customer’s email when you select Reply in the Cherwell notification email. If you only use Reply when responding to the email, the customer will not receive your message.
More information is available under Send Email to Customer in the IT Analyst Cherwell Quick Reference Guide .
When a ticket is submitted through the Customer Portal, the owner is not assigned and the ticket is listed as New. The ticket will be directed to the Suggested Team and the designated person(s) may assign the ticket to you. The Actions menu will only display Acknowledge. If you wish to accept the ticket, you must click on Acknowledge to display the Actions menu options for Resolve, Put on Hold and Cancel.
The email may be directed to any person listed in the send to field. The system default is the person listed in Requested By field. You may copy and paste any email address into the send to field or use the feature available in the Cherwell System as outlined in Send Email to Customer in the IT Analyst Cherwell Reference Guide.
The Requested by Customer recipient gets an email notification of the ticket being created and resolved. They will also get an email notification if a technician selects the Record Action "Email Requested By". If the technician replies to a ticket notification coming from ITsupport@vcu.eduand customer notification is needed, the technician must include the customer’s email address in the ticket notification in order for the customer to receive the reply. Cherwell does not automatically forward incoming emails to the customer.
The system is set up to store an alternate phone number in the customer profile. This allows the customer (especially students) to enter their cell phone number only once and the system would store for the next time they entered a ticket.
If the alternative phone number saved in the customer profile is incorrect, you may remove it by selecting the Go to related item icon 
beside the Requested By name to open the profile. Delete the Alternate Phone number from the profile. Please keep in mind, if an open ticket with the incorrect alternate phone number is updated or resolved, the incorrect alternate phone number will be re-populated in the profile. To correct the problem, remove the incorrect alternative phone number from the ticket before it is saved and/or resolved.
Note: Adding an alternative number to your profile will stay with the profile until you remove it. Avoid using someone else's phone number in alternative number of your profile.
Example of Desktop Support Routing Method:
Cherwell looks at the eID listed under Requested For to identify the person’s MBU. Then it routes the ticket to the designated MBU Desktop Support Team. The customer sees their designated MBU in the Portal, but cannot change it. Only the analyst can change the assigned MBU in the analyst Portal.
We understand that there are some people assigned to one MBU and supported by another. The option to select an Alternative MBU is available in the customer profile. The analyst may change the MBU by selecting the Go to related item icon beside the Requested By name to open the profile. Select the MBU from the Alt Bus. Unit Name drop list to designate the correct support unit. All new tickets will go to the Alternative MBU for the customer.
You receive a ticket that does not belong to you or your group. You need to route the ticket to the correct unit. Instructions on how to Change a Team is available in the IT Analyst Cherwell Quick Reference Guide . If you know the name of the technician and don’t know the name of the team, review the instructions on how to search for a technician under Find a Team in the Quick Reference Guide. If you are unsure of the team, please assign the ticket to Entity: VCU Technology Services, Team: IT Support Center.
Some services require approval from a supervisor. The approver will submit a service request from the portal. The Request For is designated for the person who needs access to a service . In the ticket, the approver will appear as the Requested By and the Requested For will identify the name of the person who needs access, and >the Source will appear as Portal If any of the fields are altered by an Analyst, the change will be recorded in the History/Audit trail and will serve as documentation for the change.