2011-2012 - College of Osteopathic Medicine - Touro University ...

SECTION VI: UNIVERSITY COMPUTER SERVICESThe Information Technology (IT) Department is responsible for all computing services,on-campus telephone services, supporting the University‟s website, Blackboard, andaudio-visual and print services. Students benefit, directly and indirectly, from the workof the IT Department in a variety of ways.Upon admittance to the University, students are issued an email account andsubscribed to a group list for their class. University faculty, staff and administratorsparticipate in the various conversations on the class group list, along with the incomingstudents. By the time students arrive on campus, they have had the opportunity tointroduce themselves to each other as well as to pose questions and air concerns in apublic forum. The group lists remain a significant means of communication throughoutthe students‟ enrollment at TUC and as alumni.Once arriving on campus, students are issued a network login which gives them accessto the University‟s computer network and to the campus wireless access system. Thereare two computer labs, offering students approximately 40 workstations on which theymay use productivity software, browse the Internet, access course-specific files and usesoftware that complements the curriculum. Each computer lab has printing andscanning capability for student use. Each student also has a private file storage area onthe University servers that he/she may access from any computer lab workstation. Allstudents may access specifically tagged files from off-campus so that classpresentations, group and individual projects in process and other data files may beretrieved from home.Upon their arrival, students are also issued Blackboard accounts. Blackboard enhanceson-campus class and lab instruction, and is also an important element of the curriculumduring the clerkship years when the student is off-campus on rotation. Blackboard isalso increasingly used as a part of the social and student life aspects of the studentexperience. Clubs, committees and other special interest groups may request a sectionof Blackboard be set aside for communication and collaboration among theirmembership.The University‟s website is another significant means of communication, both with theoutside world and with the on-campus community. Student clubs and organizations are2011 – 2012 COM Student Handbook