Computing Practices FAQ
for Faculty and Staff

This document contains frequently asked questions about CUA computing in academic and administrative offices by CUA faculty and staff.

Who provides and configures the computer in my office?

The Center for Planning and Information Technology (CPIT) is the central IT organization for the university. CPIT provides faculty and staff members with a desktop computer for their academic or administrative work. (Desktop computers in The Columbus School of Law are installed and configured by the Law School's Computer Services group.) Each computer is delivered with a standard configuration that includes Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Office 2003, web browsers, antivirus software and other utility software.

How do I request assistance if I am having a problem with my computer hardware or software, or if I have a question about computer issues in general?

The CPIT Information Center is open for telephone calls from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm Monday-Friday, and for walk-in service from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday-Friday. You can submit an online trouble ticket 24 hours a day at help.cua.edu. Computer technicians visit offices to repair computer problems from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday-Friday.

How do I request emergency support after hours?

CPIT will dispatch a technician after hours only for outages that affect multiple users or critical infrastructure such as the network. Department heads have been informed of the procedure for requesting after hours emergency service. Please contact your supervisor if you believe such service is necessary so that he or she may request it.

If you know that you need to use certain computing equipment after hours, please test it the way you will be using it beforehand (i.e., during the standard work week) to ensure that there is sufficient time to resolve any problems you may encounter.

Remember that you can browse the Computing Help section of the CUA web site for information that may help you resolve your problem.

I am a new employee. How do I get a network logon username and password?

Network logon accounts are created automatically when your employee information is entered by the Human Resources Office, but you must contact the CPIT Information Center to have your account activated. You will be told your network username and password at that time.

I don't like my assigned username; can it be changed?

Usually not. Network logon usernames are assigned automatically using an algorithm that takes into account maximum length requirements and other factors, including the fact that certain applications used at the university do not allow user IDs to be reused. Many other computing resources are based on this assigned name. It is therefore technically difficult to change these names once assigned.

The only time that network logon username change requests are accommodated is when a person's legal name has changed and the new name has been registered with the Office of Human Resources. The Director of Academic Technology Services must approve the request. Changing to the new name is time-intensive for the person whose legal name has changed since data must be moved to a new account.

How do I read my CUA e-mail?

Faculty and staff should use Microsoft Outlook to access e-mail from their campus desktop computer. To access e-mail from outside the campus network, you can browse to mail.cua.edu to use a web-based interface.

Your e-mail username is <network logon username>@cua.edu. E.g., if your network logon username is ALINCOLN, your e-mail address is ALincoln@cua.edu.

I don't like CUA's e-mail; can I have my CUA e-mail forwarded to a provider of my choice?

No. Official CUA communications at times are sent to your cua.edu e-mail address. If your cua.edu e-mail is forwarded outside the university, the university cannot guarantee that these official communications will be received.

E-mail sent by university faculty and staff is expected to be related to university academic or administrative business and is stored on university-owned servers or computers. E-mail messages sent by university employees through the university's e-mail system are university records.

Why should I use a password protected screen saver?

Many faculty and staff members have access to confidential information that is stored in Cardinal Station, Cardinal Financials, network file shares or even in e-mail folders. If you walk away from your computer even for a few moments, someone could enter your office or work area and gain access to this information. It is therefore very important that you always use a password-protected screensaver that is set to activate after 10 minutes or less of idle time.

To enable a screen saver in Microsoft Windows, use Start -> Control Panel -> Display -> Screen Saver. Select a screen saver, select 10 minutes or less for the Wait period, and make sure that "On resume, password protect" is checked.

My office has hired a temp for a few days; can I let this person use my computer account?

No. "Accessing the accounts of others, or allowing others to use your account" is an activity that is explicitly prohibited by the university's Computer Ethics policy. You should never tell anyone, including CPIT support staff, your network logon password. Neither should you log on to your account yourself, but then let someone else use it.

Each university employee or contractor must have his or her own computer account if he or she must log onto university computers or access network resources such as file shares. Please contact CPIT to request that a computer account be created for your temporary worker. You should do this at least two business days before the account is needed.

I am a university administrator and my administrative assistant needs to access my calendar and files; can I let my assistant use my computer account?

No. "Accessing the accounts of others, or allowing others to use your account" is an activity that is explicitly prohibited by the university's Computer Ethics policy. You should never tell anyone your network logon password. Neither should you log on to your account yourself, but then let someone else use it.

Each department has a common shared area on the central file server where departmental files can be stored. Folders can be created on the common share to better organize these files. One or two additional shares can be requested by a department for special purposes; the department may specify the people who should have access to these additional shares.

You can share your cua.edu Outlook calendar with other CUA users. To do this in Outlook 2003, in Calendar, in the Navigation Pane (on the left side of your Outlook window), click Share My Calendar and then specify the people who can access your Calendar, in this case, your administrative assistant.

Your administrative assistant can then open your Calendar. To do this in Outlook 2003, your assistant should, in Calendar, click Open a Shared Calendar, then type your network logon name in the Name box. Your calendar will appear alongside any calendar already in the view.

Should I turn my computer off when I go home?

Yes, your computer, monitor and any equipment that is directly attached to your computer, such as a printer or scanner, should be powered off when you leave for the day. This reduces the university's power consumption and improves the security of the network.

Do not power off network equipment such as departmental network-attached printers. These are already configured to enter an energy-saving "sleep" mode after a period of time, and must remain powered on to be accessible from the network.

How do I get access to financial/budget data for my department?

The financial system is accessed through Cardinal Station. (The financials system must be accessed from a computer on the main campus network.) To request access to the system, download the Request for Access to Cardinal Financials form (Microsoft Word) and follow the instructions on the form.

How much data can I store on my M: drive?

Each employee who has a CUA network logon account is assigned space on the central file server for storing their work-related files. This file server space is known as your "home directory" and is mapped to the M: drive on Windows, or mounted on Mac OS X, automatically when you log onto a computer on the main campus network. The file server is shared among all employees, so you should limit your storage there to no more than 1 GB.  In the future, this limit will be enforced automatically.

If you are faculty, and need additional storage space for your research or teaching, please use help.cua.edu to notify Academic Technology Services about your needs.

I like to use Internet Explorer toolbars and other similar software; is this a bad idea?

Yes. Most Internet Explorer toolbars are configured to send information about your browsing habits or other computer activities back to their manufacturer. Since you do not know what information is being sent, you should not use these toolbars.  Internet Explorer 6 with Service Pack 1 and higher, and other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, have the builtin ability to block pop-up windows, making the use of an add-on toolbar unnecessary for this purpose.

If you are a faculty or staff person with access to sensitive data such as personal information about students or employees, financial information or student grades or records, you should never install extra software such as IE toolbars, desktop search software or other free software downloaded from the Internet on your computer.