Lab Rules
Violations of any of these procedures will be referred to the Director of IT for appropriate action, which may include the loss of the privilege to use the university computer labs.
1. Labs are for current students, staff and faculty only.
The IT computer labs are for use by currently enrolled Sonoma State University students, faculty and staff members.
No one will be allowed to use a university computer lab unless they are a current SSU student, or a member of the SSU faculty or staff. Authentication is required in the form of logging in with your SSU Seawolf ID. This is the same login and password used for SSU email and PeopleSoft.
2. Peak Hours
The demand for access to workstations in the IT computer labs can be very high and students are sometimes not able to find an available workstation during peak hours.
Workstations that have been abandoned - i.e. items have been left at the station, but no one has been there for more than 20 minutes - will have those items moved to the lab's counter.
3. Food and drinks are not allowed near any equipment in the computer labs.
Food particles and liquids are serious enemies of sensitive electronic tools such as computers. Anyone with food or a drink in the lab will be asked to keep it in their backpacks, take it out of the lab or place it on specially designated tables. Food must not be consumed at the stations, even if it is kept in your pack. Repeat offenders will be referred to the Director of IT for appropriate action, which may include the loss of the privilege to use the IT computer labs.
4. Keep Noise Levels Low
The IT computer labs are study areas and lab users are asked to respect other users by keeping noise levels to a minimum. By nature, computer labs are somewhat noisy places because of the equipment they contain and the activity of people who use them. Loud conversations, programs that make noise, iPods, etc. should be kept to a minimum. Audio CDs or applications with audio output may only be used with user-provided head sets.
Games and programs which make loud or constant noise that may disturb other lab users are prohibited in the labs.
Cell phones should be turned off or set to vibrate or silent setting while using the lab. Calls should not be initiated or answered in a lab. Please step into the hallway or outside when using a cell phone.
5. Don't Install Software, Modify System Configurations, Install or Modify Hardware
Modification of hardware and software configurations in the IT computer labs is prohibited. This includes installing software, changing of printers and modification of system software.
Because of security issues, Admin privileges are not allowed for any lab user under any circumstances. If something needs doing that requires administrative access, please contact the Help Desk and a request will be generated and reviewed. This process may take weeks so please submit requests as soon as the need is recognized.
6. Don't Pirate Software and Other Copyrighted Materials
Software license agreements and copyright laws are strictly enforced in all IT computer labs. Copying licensed software from the lab workstation hard disks or file servers is a violation of federal copyright laws and of university policy. Violators of this policy will lose their rights to use all university computing resources.
7. Game Playing and Other Low Priority Use Restricted During Peak Use
During any time when the lab is full (80% or more machines in use), and during periods when the labs are very busy (such as midterms and finals weeks) all game playing is prohibited in the IT computer labs.
Games, surfing the Web and non-school email are considered low-priority activities. If people are waiting for a computer and you are not working on school-related work, you may be asked to give up your workstation.
8. Save Your Work to Your Drive or Email
Saving data files created in the lab is the responsibility of the individual user. Files can be saved to the Desktop or Documents folder, but SSU does not guarantee any data left on lab workstations. Users must transfer files before leaving the station. Options include emailing files, uploading to Google Drive, or transferring to the user's own disk. IT recommends USB flash (thumb) drives. The lab workstation hard disks are routinely wiped clean during regular maintenance.
9. External USB Devices are Allowed, But not all are supported.
All workstations have USB ports and devices may be connected by a user. Be aware that some of these devices may require additional software and, if so, you will not be able to install it.
10. Use Only Authorized Printers
Printers are provided in the 24-Hour Lab, located in Schulz 1058 (first floor south), at the cost of 10ยข per page. All IT computer labs print to these printers. Students should consider copying and pasting text from web browsers into a word-processor to reduce the number of pages printed, or save it directly to a disk (File... Save As...).
Students may use their own paper at the same cost if they wish.. Use only laser printer or copy paper - binder paper, onion-skin paper and ink-jet transparencies will jam and potentially damage the printer.
11. Lab Phones are for 911 and Help Desk calls only.
There are on-campus telephones in all of the IT computer labs for use in case of emergency (dial 911) and for calls to the Help Desk. These phones are on-campus ONLY. The use of the IT computer lab phones for lengthy personal conversations is prohibited.
For tech-support please try the Help Desk.