Around the main campus, many of the open areas have been outfitted with wireless access points which allow students to use their laptops to connect to the Internet and other campus services. Students whose laptops have a wireless card may sign up for a special wireless VPN account. Students who do not have a computer may borrow one from our Mobile Computing Loan Program. A valid UMass pass is required for these short term loans.

Students may have all, or a portion, of their courses taught in a hands-on computer classroom that has state of the art Windows or Macintosh computers. These computers are replaced every three years and have the latest versions of software installed. High-end, specialized software is available for student use in these facilities. 

Faculty from many majors utilize the web in courses offered completely online or in what is known as "hybrid courses." Hybrid courses offer some lectures taught online and other lectures taught face-to-face. Additionally, some faculty members teach courses in an interactive television environment. These ITV courses are offered between UMass Dartmouth and our UMass sister campuses.

While students are not required to own a computer, a survey of incoming 2004 freshmen revealed that 95% of the incoming students expected to have a computer in their place of residence. For students who do not have computers, we offer access to nearly 400 computers in our public access computing labs throughout the campus.

If you would like to bring a computer to campus, the residence halls are equipped with one port per bed. Upon move-in, students are provided with a CD that contains instructions for how to connect to our campus network. Be sure to check the minimum hardware requirements so that you will be guaranteed a connection. Beginning April 2004, all student computers had to have anti-virus software installed in order to connect to our campus network. CITS makes this software available, free of charge, to all UMass Dartmouth students. Visit the computer registration site for more information.

Commuting students who wish to connect to our network from home must make arrangements with an Internet Service Provider or ISP. Your ISP will inform you of its hardware requirements to connect to our campus network.

E-mail accounts are provided to every UMass Dartmouth student. This is an official means of communications for UMass Dartmouth notifications, alerts, announcements and events. If you need more information, call 508-999-8532.

Students who have questions relating to technology may receive assistance from our Student Help Desk located in the Library. The Help Desk is staffed by Senior IT Assistants and is open many hours during the week and on the weekend. Students living in the residence halls may also receive IT assistance from our Residential Help Desk, also known as the Resnoc.

CITS is the largest employer of students on the UMass Dartmouth campus. We employ students from all majors to work on many of our CITS teams including our IT Service Center, Labs & Classrooms Operations, Networking & Systems, Internet Development, and Instructional Development Teams. UMass Dartmouth students may visit our web site to complete an application for student employment. 

Whether you are connecting to the campus network from your residence hall, your home, a classroom, a public access computing facility or our wireless LAN, CITS requires that you use technology responsibly. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with our UMass Dartmouth Responsible Use Policy.

For more information about CITS, please check out other portions of this web site: www.umassd.edu/cits/

At UMass Dartmouth, our entire CITS staff looks forward to supporting your academic and student life experiences!