Pennsylvania State System cuts helpdesk load

About Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) is comprised of 10 state-owned public universities, serving as the primary higher education provider for Pennsylvania residents. With nearly 90% of its 82,000 students coming from within the state, PASSHE is dedicated to offering accessible, high-quality education to a diverse population. Many of its students come from low- and middle-income families, making PASSHE a key driver in fostering economic mobility and opportunity through affordable higher education.

Company

PASSHE

Industry

Education

Location

United States

Employee

10,000+

Capabilities

Self-Service Password Reset Password Policy Enforcer

Business challenges

Overburdened Helpdesk: With a growing number of users, PASSHE’s helpdesk was inundated with password reset requests, slowing down operations and taking up valuable time that could be spent addressing more critical IT issues.
Password Policy Management: Maintaining a secure password policy was a significant concern. PASSHE needed a solution to enforce strong password rules and monitor password usage without requiring constant manual intervention.

The problem

Before implementing ADSelfService Plus, PASSHE’s IT team faced an overwhelming number of password-related requests, especially from students and staff. Managing secure and effective password policies while addressing recovery issues was a time-consuming task. The helpdesk was constantly bogged down with password reset calls, impacting overall productivity and response times. Additionally, enforcing consistent password standards and tracking password histories was proving to be a challenge for the institution.

The solution

With the implementation of ADSelfService Plus, PASSHE was able to significantly improve its password management process.

"It allows us to maintain passwords between universities and free up our helpdesk from fielding password reset calls. The effectiveness of the self-service password reset function is phenomenal. It has reduced the involvement of our helpdesk employees."

Umholtz, IT Admin, PASSHE

ADSelfService Plus also played a key role in improving password policy management. By setting parameters for password strength, history, and recovery options, the solution helped PASSHE maintain a secure password environment without requiring constant IT supervision. “The product helped us with our password policy because of setting the parameters of the password as well as the recovery issues and history of password,” Umholtz noted. Additionally, ADSelfService Plus provided PASSHE with a valuable tool to monitor the usage of the self-service portal, ensuring that users were following password policies and utilizing the platform effectively. “It allows us to monitor the usage of the site as well,” said Umholtz.

"My experience with ADSelfService Plus support is phenomenal. They are very responsive. In terms of a password management solution, ADSelfService Plus is a lifesaver and a cycle reducer."

Umholtz, IT Admin, PASSHE

About ADSelfService Plus

ADSelfService Plus is an identity security solution to ensure secure and seamless access to enterprise resources and establish a Zero Trust environment. With capabilities such as adaptive multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, self-service password management, a password policy enhancer, remote work enablement and workforce self-service, ADSelfService Plus provides your employees with secure, simple access to the resources they need. ADSelfService Plus helps keep identity-based threats out, fast-tracks application onboarding, improves password security, reduces help desk tickets and empowers remote workforces. For more information about ADSelfService Plus, visit https://www.manageengine.com/products/self-service-password/.

Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education enhances password management and helpdesk efficiency with ADSelfService Plus