Faculty/Staff Guide to Computing Resources Mission Statement To support the inclusion of technology into the educational environment. To provide technical assistance when needed to allow faculty and staff better complete their assigned tasks with the usage of computer technology. To maintain all computer systems within the College in both an efficient and effective manner.
Computer Problem Recording Procedures All computer help requests need to be called in to the Lab at 335-5623 or simply mail a message to (wayne-kintz@uiowa.edu). Please note for e-mail messages "Computer Help Request" needs to be entered into the subject line of the message. Please make sure to note the nature of the problem (application and/or filename), your name, office number, phone number and which specific computer system is having the problem. This system should help to ensure prompt and efficient response to each and every request that is submitted. Personal Computer Suport Policy The Goal of the ETC support department is to maintain University of Iowa owned computer systems and peripherals and keep them in working order. This includes all systems in the Educational Technology Center, the College of Education and Iowa Testing Programs. This does not include personal systems owned by faculty, staff or students. If a faculty/staff member needs help configuring their system we will provide assistance in accessing University resources (i.e. wireless, email, remote applications) which may include referrals to the ITS HelpDesk. Students will be referred directly to the ITS HelpDesk for this type of assistance. Faculty, staff and students must purchase Microsoft Office software under the Microsoft Campus agreement from the IMU Bookstore for their personal computers. For other types of software we will provide guidance on how obtain and install the software. For setup or repair we will help our faculty and staff find relevant support resources, but cannot commit staff to assist in the setup or repair of personal equipment.
Computer Anti-Virus Software Policy Computer virus programs pose a great risk to any organization that relies heavily on computer technology as a means of generating and storing creative work. The department policy for computer anti-virus software is to always have the latest “stable” version installed on every computer within the College. All new machines will have the latest anti-virus software installed and updated to the latest dat file when they are installed. At key points throughout the year I will recommend that users allow us to upgrade their dat files to enable the software to recognize new virus strains. On PC/Windows systems installed in offices and in areas where systems are on all day we can set up the software to automatically update itself weekly. For PC/Windows systems not in these areas we will have to upgrade them manually every couple of months. Apple Macintosh systems can not be set up to automatically update so they will need to be manually updated every couple of months as well. Please Note: It is not the policy of this department to upgrade systems without user consent. If a user chooses to not update their system or to uninstall the anti-virus software they put themselves at great risk of total data loss. If a system does get infected with a computer virus they need to call the ETC HelpDesk (335-5623) immediately. We will respond immediately and attempt to recover as much data as possible from the infected system. I do recommend backing up data to an external storage device (Network Drive/CD/DVD/USB Flash etc.) periodically to ensure that a total system corruption does not also mean complete loss of creative work. Virus Assistance from ITS Mentoring Services for Faculty and Staff For Faculty and Staff that require special one on one instruction a College mentoring system is available. If you are in need of help with regards to some computer project (Web page, Applications help etc.) please call the HelpDesk at 5-5624, send an e-mail to John Achrazaglou (john-achrazoglou@uiowa.edu).
Computer Upgrades Please note that the University of Iowa will automatically upgrade all computers after approximately 4-5 years of service. Each year a list is compiled of the oldest computers in use by permanent Faculty/Staff. Depending on the end-of-year funding more or less systems may be replaced. Typically systems older than 4 years will usually qualify for replacement.
Discounted Microsoft Software - Please Read The University has entered into an open license agreement with Microsoft Corporation. This agreement allows for any computer system owned by the University of Iowa to have several Microsoft titles installed at no additional cost. This effectively eliminates the per item cost of Microsoft Windows and Office. This agreement covers Windows Vista, Windows XP as well as Office2003 and Office 2007 on the PC side and Office 2004 for the Macintosh. Home machines are also covered in the agreement so Faculty and Staff have the option to load the Office software on their home machines. Please note that a waiver of consent to the Microsoft License Agreement must be signed when obtaining the Microsoft software for installation. Copies of software for Staff and Faculty are available for checkout at the Main Library. The CD install media is also for sale at the IMU Bookstore for those who want a permanent copy of the installation CD's. The complete list of titles covered in this agreement is listed below: Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac (OS 10.4 or above required)
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