This document contains frequently asked questions about the student computing environment at Theological College. Please check this document periodically for new information.
Your computer needs to be equipped with a 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Ethernet network port, known technically as an RJ-45 port.
Most newer computers have an Ethernet network port built into the computer. If you have an older computer and need an Ethernet network card, Theological College will provide one. The network port is located on the back of desktop machines and on the back or on the side of notebook computers. On notebook computers, it is usually next to the modem port; the network port is the slightly larger of the two.
You will also need an Ethernet patch cable. Look for patch cables of type CAT5e or CAT6; either will work fine in your residence. Theological College will provide a cable if you do not have one.
Each computer on the Theological College network must be registered so that it can be assigned an IP address.
To register your computer, Theological College staff will need to know your computer's network adaptor "MAC" (physical) address. This is normally found on a sticker on the back or bottom of your computer. Or you can find it in Microsoft Windows by opening a Command Prompt, issuing command ipconfig /all and then looking for the Physical Address of your Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection.
Once your computer has been registered, its assigned IP address will be obtained automatically each time it is started up on the Theological College network.
For this automatic assignment to occur, your computer settings need to be configured properly. Use the following steps to do this.
Click the Start button.
In the resulting Local Area Connection Properties window, highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.If you have a different version of Windows, or if you are using Mac OS X, you can use a similar procedure as above to configure your connection.
The three most important steps you can take to keep your computer safe are as follows.
It is very important to do all three of these steps before you use your computer to browse the Internet!
For detailed information on how implement these steps, and for other ways to keep your computer safe, please read the "Safe Computing Practices" document on the CUA web site.
Through its affiliation with The Catholic University of America, Theological College is able to make McAfee VirusScan 8.0i with Anti-Spyware Module available free of charge to resident students on the antivirus page of the CUA computing web site.
In order to download the software using the link above, you will need to know your CUA network logon username and password. See below for more information about your CUA network logon account.
The name (SSID) of the Theological College wireless network and the password if needed is given on a poster on the inside of the student lounge doors, and in the student computer lab. You will need this name and password in order to connect your wireless-capable computer to the network.
The wireless networking at Theological College uses encryption to protect your communication. Please note the instructions on the door poster for configuring your computer to use the proper encryption settings.
Some wireless computers or adaptors come with their own software for detecting and connecting to wireless networks. Others use the Microsoft Windows network connection wizard. Please check the documentation provided with your system to determine how to get connected wirelessly.
No. Only College-owned network equipment may be attached to the College network, since such equipment can interfere with the normal operation of the network. This means that you may not attach your own routers, switches, hardware firewalls, wireless access points or other network equipment.
No. Your computer must not offer any network services designed to be accessed by others on the network. This includes Internet services such as dns (e.g., named), dhcp, bootp, wins, smtp, pop, imap, http/https (web), nntp, ftp, smb, nfs, telnet.
Your Theological College e-mail address and password are provided to you when you first arrive at the College. You should change your e-mail password using the Theological College webmail interface.
Your CUA e-mail username and password is as those for your CUA network logon account. That is, it is your CUA network logon account that is used to access your cua.edu e-mail. Your CUA network logon account also allows you to log onto the computers in the various CUA labs. Your CUA network logon account is created shortly before your first semester at CUA.
See below for more information on your CUA network logon account and how to get it.
Your Theological College e-mail can be read online through any web browser by navigating to mail.theologicalcollege.org. Log on using the username and password for your Theological College e-mail address. You optionally can select a layout for the webmail interface; the "XChange" layout is closest to the one used for CUA e-mail, so you might choose that one. Remember to log out when you are finished reading e-mail.
To change your Theological College e-mail password, select the Settings option from the menu bar. Then click on the Password tab. Type your existing password, and then your new password twice in the boxes provided. Click Update to change to the new password.
Your CUA e-mail can be read online by navigating to mail.cua.edu. Click "Log on to Outlook Web Access" to log on. Enter your CUA network logon username and password in the pop-up box that appears. Remember to log out when you are finished reading e-mail.
The password for your CUA network logon account is not changed through the webmail interface. Instead, log on to home.cua.edu using your current password and look for the "Change Password" link on the left side. Your CUA password must be changed at least every 90 days, and should be hard to guess (as should all your passwords).
Although you can use any browser to access CUA webmail, the best experience is achieved using Internet Explorer on Microsoft Windows.
Additional information about accessing your CUA e-mail, including filtering out unwanted messages, adjusting spam delivery options and managing mailbox size, can be found on the CUA computing web site.
Although your Theological College and CUA e-mail may be read online through the webmail interfaces, you may instead find it more convenient to download your e-mail to Microsoft Outlook or other e-mail client on your computer. To do this, you must configure your e-mail program with the necessary e-mail account settings so that your Theological College and CUA e-mail may be accessed.
Important! If you choose to use the settings described here, your e-mail will be downloaded to your computer and deleted from the e-mail server. This means that your downloaded e-mail may no longer be accessed through the webmail interface. Be sure this is what you intend to happen before making these setting changes.
To set up an e-mail account to download your e-mail in Microsoft Outlook 2003 on Microsoft Windows, follow these steps.
This table describes the settings that you should use in configuring your e-mail client program to download your Theological College or CUA e-mail. In this example, we assume that a student named Abraham Lincoln has been assigned Theological College e-mail address alincoln@theologicalcollege.org and CUA e-mail address 65lincoln@cua.edu. Use your account information instead.
| Setting | Theological College | CUA |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Friendly name to appear on your messages; e.g., Abraham Lincoln | |
| E-mail address | alincoln@theologicalcollege.org | 65lincoln@cua.edu |
| User Name | alincoln | 65lincoln |
| Password | <specify password for alincoln> | <specify password for 65lincoln> |
| Incoming mail server (POP3) | mail.theologicalcollege.org | pop.studentmail.cua.edu |
| Outgoing mail server (SMTP) | mail.theologicalcollege.org | smtp.cua.edu |
| Remember password | <check this box> | <check this box> |
Note that to send e-mail from outside the CUA campus using an e-mail program such as Outlook, Entourage, Eudora, Mail.app, Netscape or Thunderbird, you must use the outgoing e-mail server belonging to your Internet Service Provider (ISP). The CUA outgoing e-mail server can be used only while your computer is connected to the CUA network. Additionally, most ISP's prohibit the sending of e-mail through any outgoing server except their own. Therefore, it is highly recommended that when you are outside the Theological College or CUA campus, you use webmail to access your e-mail. Note that most CUA students use only the webmail interface, both on and off campus.
The Theological College student lab is located on the third floor and has the same set of software as the computers in the main CUA student labs.
The computers run Microsoft Windows XP Professional, and have Microsoft Office 2003 Professional installed. Three web browsers are included: Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and Netscape 7. Various other academic applications also are included such as AutoDesk Autocad, Microsoft Visual Studio and SPSS.
One of the computers in the Theological College student lab is further equipped with assistive technologies that can be used by students with and without disabilities.
Important! The computers in the student lab have a software configuration management feature that works to keep the computer in good working order. Each time the computer restarts, its configuration is returned to a known good state. Anything that was changed or stored on the local hard drive is removed. This means that you must not store your files on the local hard drive of lab computers, as the files will be removed when the computer restarts. Instead, you should store your files on removable storage such as a USB flash drive. Popular USB flash drives include the SanDisk Cruzer, Lexar JumpDrive and Kingston DataTraveler. Students may purchase USB flash drives in the CUA Bookstore or at any computer or electronics store.
Lab computers that employ software configuration management undergo automatic software maintenance for a one hour period between 3:00 and 5:00 am. This allows operating system updates to be installed, antivirus patterns to be updated and other software changes made. You cannot use the computer while maintenance is being performed. Several minutes before the maintenance begins, you will receive a pop-up warning message. When you receive this warning message, you must immediately save your work to your removable storage device, as the computer is about to restart for maintenance. If you stored files on the local hard drive of the lab computer, those files will be lost.
Your Theological College student lab network logon account is provided to you when you first arrive at the College. This account is used for logging onto the computers in the third floor student computer lab.
You can change your Theological College student lab password by logging onto one of the Windows XP computers in the lab. Once your are logged on with your account, press Ctrl-Alt-Del (that is, hold down all three of these keys at once) and select Change Password from the resulting menu. Type your current password, and then your new password twice in the boxes provided. Then click OK. You should change your Theological College student lab password at least every 90 days. Your new password should be hard to guess.
The student lab on the third floor is equipped with an HP LaserJet printer. To use this printer, you will need your Theological College network logon account. Use this account to log onto a computer in the lab. Use Start, Printers and Faxes. The HP LaserJet 4050 printer should be among those listed. That is the printer to use.
Toner for the printer is provided by Theological College. If the printer runs out of toner, submit an online service request at help.cua.edu to have the toner cartridge replaced. Do not attempt to replace the cartridge yourself.
Students need to provide their own paper for printing. Use paper that is designated for laser printers. Do not use copier paper or general purpose paper as these will jam the printer and make it unusable for you and others.
The computer lab has a fax machine that is maintained by the student government. There are instructions for using the fax machine taped to the desk near the machine. You must use a calling card to send a long distance fax.
The computer lab has a copier that is maintained by the student government. You may need a card to operate the copier.
Cardinal Station is the portal for CUA administrative systems. Cardinal Station gives secure on-line access to information regarding students' classes, grades, personal information and mailing information. It is also used by faculty to check student rosters and enter grades.
You can access Cardinal Station by browsing to cardinalstation.cua.edu.
Your Cardinal Station username and password was mailed to you when you applied to the university. It is not the same as your CUA network logon account. If you don't remember your Cardinal Station account information, please contact the CUA computer Information Center.
There is additional information about Cardinal Station in the Computing Help How Do I section of the CUA computing web site, including articles on accessing grades, viewing class schedules, adding a class to your schedule and troubleshooting Cardinal Station access issues.
Your CUA network account allows you to log onto any machine in the CUA computer labs, and gives you access to your CUA e-mail, free antivirus software, and more.
Your CUA network logon account is created shortly before your first semester at the university. You can find your CUA network account information by logging onto Cardinal Station. Navigate to Student/Faculty Self-Service, select the Portfolio tab, and then navigate to Your Email and Network Login. This page lists your CUA network account username and e-mail address, and instructions on how to log on for the first time.
You can visit the CUA Center for Planning and Information Technology computing web site for information about using the CUA network. Click on the Getting Started link on the left side of the page.
As a student at Theological College, you have four separate accounts that are used to access various computing technologies.
Theological College is working with the CUA Center for Planning and Information Technology on ways to simplify access to network computing resources, including decreasing the number of required usernames and passwords.
When choosing passwords for these accounts, be sure to select a strong passphrase.
Don't use the same password for different purposes. For example, the password you use for your network logon account, the password for your e-mail account, the password for your online banking website and the password you use to log onto a recreational or news website should all be completely different.
Do not share your passwords with anyone else. If someone learns one of your passwords, change it immediately.
Computer and network support for Theological College students is provided by The Center for Planning and Information Technology (CPIT) at The Catholic University of America.
CPIT provides several options for obtaining assistance that are described on the CUA computing web site, including calling the computer Information Center at (202) 319-4357 (-HELP) during its operating hours Mon-Ffri 8am-9pm, or entering a support ticket online at help.cua.edu any time.
CUA ResNet provides a free, best-effort carry-in service to assist students with virus, spyware and other software problems with their personally-owned computers that run Windows Vista, Windows XP or Mac OS X.
Telephone and cable television support for students is provided by Theological College.
If you have a problem with your telephone, retrieve a help form from the business office (Suite 100), fill it out completely, and return it to Lauren Brannon.
If you have a problem with your cable television, please notify Lauren Brannon in the business office (Suite 100).
Contact information for Ms. Brannon was provided in your welcome kit when you arrived at the College.