General Use Rules
The University Computer Labs at Sonoma State University are used both by academic departments for teaching and by students for their course work and research when there are no classes scheduled in the labs. The 24-Hour lab in Schulz is never scheduled for classes. In order to provide SSU students with equitable access to campus computing resources and to insure that the areas provided are reasonably comfortable, have an atmosphere which is suitable for academic work, and contain functioning computer equipment, the following procedures have been adopted and implemented.
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.
Who may use the University Computer Labs
The university computer labs are for use by currently enrolled Sonoma State University students, faculty and staff members. This policy specifically excludes alumni, library "community borrowers," former students who are no longer enrolled in classes at SSU, students from other colleges and universities and the general public.
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.
Graduate students from other schools may make special arrangements with the Director of ITS to use the university computer labs. The graduate student's advisor must write a letter to the Director of ITS stating why the use of SSU computing facilities is necessary for the completion of the student's academic work.
Using the Labs
The demand for access to the workstations in the university computer labs is very high and students are sometimes not able to find an available workstation during peak hours. In order to provide SSU students with fair and equitable access to the workstations in the university computer labs the following rule has been adopted. There will be a two-hour time limit on workstation sessions in the university labs during open access periods. If at the end of a two hour session there is no one waiting to use a workstation, a person may continue to work there until such time as a demand for the workstation arises.
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.
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Food & Drinks
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 university computer labs.
Printing
Printers are provided in the 24-Hour Lab, located in Schulz 1058 (first floor south), at the cost of 10¢ per page. All IT Labs print to these two 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 (for special colors, etc.) at the same cost if they wish. But, use only laser printer or copy paper - binder paper, onion-skin paper and ink-jet transparencies will jam and potentially damage the printer.
Noise in the Labs
The university 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.
Cell phones should be turned off or turned 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.
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Game Playing in the Labs
Games and programs which make loud or constant noise that may disturb other lab users are prohibited from the labs.
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 university computer labs.
Games, surfing the Web and non-school email are considered low-priority activities. Which means, 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.
Lab Telephones
There are on-campus telephones in all of the labs for use in case of emergency (dial 911), for calls to the Service Center, and for conducting other lab business. They are on-campus ONLY. The use of the lab phones for lengthy personal conversations is prohibited.
For tech-support please try the Help Desk at 4-HELP (44357) between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm This number does not have voicemail.
Copying Software and Manuals
Software license agreements and copyright laws are strictly enforced in the university 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.
Saving Files
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, or transferring to the user's own disk. SSU recommends USB flash (thumb) drives. Zip and floppy disks are no longer supported in IT labs. The lab workstation hard disks are routinely wiped clean during regular maintenance.
We have also provided a student volume on the SSU Lab Server for temporary storage of files. See a lab assistant for more information.
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External Hardware
All workstations have USB and Firewire 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.
Most Macintoshes and some Dells in University labs are also equipped with FireWire ports. Users may attach external FireWire devices with their own cables.
Machines in several labs have built-in microphones attached to them. Students must provide their own headsets.
Modification of Hardware and Software Configurations
Modification of hardware and software configurations in the 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 a lab manager, and they will give the request due consideration.
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