Start Smart: IT Hub Resources, Help Desk Tickets, and Strong Passwords

Start Smart: IT Hub Resources, Help Desk Tickets, and Strong Passwords

January 20, 2026

TLDR

Key points:

• • The IT Hub is your primary self-service resources for tech support and how-to-guides.
  • Submitting a Help Desk ticket is faster and more reliable than emailing or messaging ISS staff directly. Email helpdesk@mclennan.edu or complete the ticket form.
  • Weak passwords are one of the leading causes of account compromise. The new year is an ideal time to update your password and remove weak or reused credentials.
  • For tips to create a strong password, see Protect Your Identity, Top 5.
  • Ready to update your password? See IT Hub: Forgot Password and IT Hub: Preventing Account Lockouts After Password Reset.

TLDR END

What is the IT Hub?

The IT Hub is McLennan Community College’s (MCC’s) centralized, self-service support site managed by Information System and Services (ISS).

It is designed to help students, faculty, and staff quickly find answers, instructions, and resources, related to technology, without waiting for direct Help Desk assistance.

IT Hub Includes:

• Step-by-step guides for common tasks such as password reset or MFA setup.
• Links to submit Help Desk tickets and view support options.
• Security awareness and other knowledge-based articles.

Access the IT Hub from the main MCC website and bookmark it. Many articles require you to login in so you can view content specific to your role (student, faculty, or staff).

How to Search

The search bar at the top of the IT Hub allows you to quickly locate articles by keyword.

• Use short, specific terms such as “password reset”, “Duo”, or “email access”
• Avoid full sentences; keywords are best

If you are unsure what to search, try to start with the system name (for example, Brightspace or 365). Many issues can be resolved in minutes, on your own, by following an IT Hub article, without waiting for a response from the Help Desk.

Why submit a Help Desk Ticket?

When you need help beyond what the IT Hub provides, submitting a Help Desk ticket is the most effective way to get technical support.

Emails and chats can be missed, especially during busy periods. For time-sensitive issues, a Help Desk ticket is always faster and more reliable than contacting an individual staff member directly.

1. Tickets are tracked and prioritized: a ticket creates a record and is visible to the entire ISS department. Tickets are routed to the right ISS team member and tracked until resolution.
2. Staff availability varies: if an ISS staff member is out of the office, in meetings, or assisting others, direct emails or chat messages may be missed or go unanswered.
3. Faster overall response: tickets allow ISS to triage issues efficiently, reducing delays, and back-and-forth communication.

Tickets also help ISS identify trends, recurring issues, and systemwide problems, which improves services for the campus community.

Submit and Check Ticket Status

Create a ticket by emailing the helpdesk@mclennan.edu or completing the ticket form. At any time, you may check the status, respond to an open ticket, or re-open a closed ticket. To check the status:

• Login to the ticket status system with your MCC credentials
• “My Tickets” on the dashboard lists all your tickets (open or closed)
• Under “My Tickets”, select the “View all My Tickets” link
• To view open tickets, select arrow next to “All My Tickets”, select “My Tickets”, then select “My Active Tickets”

New Year, New Password

The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to refresh, update your password, and strengthen your account security. Over time, passwords may become weak due to reuse, age, or exposure in data breaches outside MCC

What is a weak password?

Weak and reused passwords continue to be one of the most common security risks. KnowBe4 considers a password to be weak if it is:

• Too short (8-12 characters) – example: Password1 – easily cracked by automated tools
• Common or predictable – example: welcome or abc123
• Personal or institutional related (names or dates) – example: jane2026 or mccstudent
• Reuse the same password across multiple accounts – a breach exposes many accounts

Stolen or weak passwords are involved in most account compromise incidents, often combined with phishing. Accounts with old, unchanged password are significantly more likely to be compromised than those with regularly updated credentials.

Even with multi-factor authentication (MFA) in place, strong passwords remain a critical first line of defense.

What should I do now? 

• Update your MCC password if it has not been changed recently.
• Create a strong (long, unique) password or pass phrase; see Protect Your Identity, Top 5.
• Do not reuse the password anywhere else.
• Consider using a password manager to generate and store strong passwords securely.

Need Help?

Use the IT Hub for instructions to update your password. Once you update your password, you must update other services, with the new password, to avoid getting locked out. See:

• IT Hub: Forgot Password
• IT Hub: Preventing Account Lockouts After Password Reset

If you still need assistance or have issues, submit a Help Desk ticket. Staying secure at MCC starts with using the right tools and processes. The IT Hub and the Help Desk ticket system are here to support you quickly, reliably, and securely.