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Computing and IT

The IT Team & facilities at Exeter are here to enable you to get the best out of your time in College. We pride ourselves on providing an excellent support service to students, so please contact us if you have any problems.

Any ideas on how to improve services are welcomed too, please send any feedback to computing.manager@exeter.ox.ac.uk.

Contents

Facilities and Services

Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Facilities and Services

About

As a Collegiate University, IT is a mixture of College, University and Departmental Systems. While every effort is made to reduce the complexity there are still some overlaps.

The IT Department is the first point of contact for any issues you have, but we only have control over the College based systems.

The University provides access to the centralised systems such as:

  • Identity and authentication services (Single Sign-On)
  • Email (Nexus 365)
  • Canvas
  • Internet connectivity.

College IT provides:

  • The infrastructure to enable you to access University systems
  • Computing & printing facilities
  • College systems.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

This is the most important account you will use. The SSO account provides access to University systems such as email and is created automatically once the University receives your signed contract.

Your username and an activation code will be sent by email to the address held by the University. If you have not provided a working email address, the information will be sent via internal mail to Exeter College.

For added security, Multi-Factor Authentication is enabled on all SSO accounts. This means you will need to verify your account using a second factor, such as a code from an Authenticator app or text message. This will be in addition to your normal SSO password. Further information about Multi-Factor Authentication, including how to set up a second factor, can be found on the IT Services Multi-Factor Authentication help page.

Please see the IT Services website for more information about the SSO account.

Email

The University email system is provided by Microsoft Office 365 and is often referred to as Nexus or Nexus 365.  Your email account will be generated on creation of your University Card and is accessed using your SSO account.

Your email address will normally be in the format of: firstname.surname@exeter.ox.ac.uk.

You can access your email via a web browser or by adding the account to your preferred email client. Please see the IT Services website for more information about University email.

Canvas

Canvas is a virtual learning environment platform which is supported by the University. Lecture slides, reading lists and other information about your course can often be found on your subject’s page there. Please see the help pages for more information about Canvas.

College Facilities

As well as access to the University systems, Exeter College also provides the following services for students to use:

Internet Access

Wireless internet access is available throughout the College buildings. There are 2 Wi-Fi networks you can access:

Eduroam

Eduroam is the primary Wi-Fi network at Oxford and will enable you to have internet access in all University of Oxford buildings, as well as other institutions worldwide.

To connect to Eduroam you will first need to create a Remote Access Account. Once your account is created, follow the Eduroam connection guides on the IT Services website. Here you can also find manual connecting settings and an Eduroam troubleshooting guide. Posters are also available in the College Computer Rooms.

MyExeter

MyExeter is an alternative to Eduroam and is available in all College buildings. This network is particular useful if you want to connect devices to the internet that won’t work with Eduroam, for example games consoles, wireless printers and smart devices. Follow the steps below to use this network:

  1. First connect to ‘WelcomeToExeterCollege’. This will automatically take you to a login page.
  2. Accept the terms and conditions, select ‘University of Oxford’, then enter your SSO username (e.g. exet1234@OX.AC.UK) and password.
  3. You will be given your own unique password you can use to connect to ‘MyExeter’. This password will work on multiple devices.

The College also subscribes to SkyWiFi/TheCloud – this is provided for visitors to the College and is not recommended for use by students, as it is a slower network than Eduroam and MyExeter and also has inactivity timeouts.

For help with Wi-Fi at Exeter, please email us at it-servicedesk@exeter.ox.ac.uk or visit the Turl Street IT Office.

Printing, Photocopying and Scanning

All students can print, copy and scan using the Kyocera Multi-Function devices. There are 7 printers available to use in the following locations:

Turl Street

  • Balsdon Computer Room (Mono/Colour A4/A3)
  • JCR Computer Room (Mono/Colour A4)
  • Library (Mono/Colour A4/A3)
  • MCR Computer Room (Mono/Colour A4)

Cohen Quad

  • Cohen Quad Dakota Café (Mono/Colour A4/A3)

Exeter House

  • Exeter House Computer Room (Mono/Colour A4)

To print to any of these devices from a College PC, select ‘Follow Me Print’ as your printer. Your print job will be held in a queue for 24 hours and can be released by logging into any of the devices listed above using your University Card. Posters with more detailed instructions can be found by each device.

You can also print from your personal devices using our email to print service. Using your Exeter College email account, attach the documents you want to print to a new email and send it to one of the following addresses:

You will receive a confirmation email when your print job has been received. Print jobs will be held in a queue for up to 24 hours and can be released from any of the devices listed above. Please note this service will only work using an @exeter.ox.ac.uk email address. Depending on the file size/complexity of your documents, it can take a few minutes for them to appear at the printer for release. 

Print Costs

Each student is allocated £7.50 of print credit at the start of each term. Once your credit has expired all further printing costs are charged to your battels using the prices below. There is a 25% discount for duplex/double-sided printing:

  • A4 Mono /Page: 5p
  • A4 Colour /Page: 7.5p
  • A3 Mono /Page: 10p
  • A3 Colour /Page: 14p

Computer Rooms

Exeter College has a number of dedicated student computer rooms equipped with All-In-One PCs.

The rooms can be found in the following locations:

  • Balsdon Computer Room  – All students 24hr access
  • Turl Street JCR – Undergraduate use only
  • Turl Street MCR – Graduate use only
  • Cohen Quad Dakota Café – All students 24hr access
  • Exeter House Accommodation Block – Iffley Road residents.

All students can use these machines and store data on the College file servers. To log onto the PCs you will need to enter your SSO username followed by @OX.AC.UK (e.g. exet1234@OX.AC.UK). Please note this is case sensitive.

All Computer Room PCs have the following software installed:

  • EndNote
  • Kofax Power PDF
  • Microsoft Office
  • R/R Studio

Support

Contact Details

The Exeter College IT Team prides itself on offering a first class support service to our students. Our contact details are below:

  • Email: it-servicedesk@exeter.ox.ac.uk
  • In Person:
    • Turl Street Computing Office – NE Basement, next to the Balsdon Computer Room (Opening Hours: 9am – 5pm Mon – Thurs, 9am – 4pm Fri)
  • Emergency Out of Hours’ Hotline: (01865 2) 12345

The out of hours’ hotline is a manned service external to the University. They have limited access to University systems but may be able to help with any general PC problems.

While the Exeter College IT Team are your primary point of contact for assistance, support is also available via the IT Services Service Desk. The IT Services website also contains lots of useful information, including a Getting Started with IT page.

Hardware Problems

While we cannot repair your hardware we can help to identify the problem and advise on repair. We can also refer you to local repair centres, including Mac Simple who will give Exeter students a 10% discount.

We do have a limited supply of laptops we can loan to students whose own laptops are faulty, please contact us if you would like to borrow one.

Security

Staying safe online is very important, not only in terms of virus prevention, but also to protect your identity and personal data. Phishing email scams and ransomware are increasingly common.

The University’s Information Security Team have lots of good advice on their website about securing your accounts, devices and data. Visit the Information Security website for more information.

It is also very important to take regular backups of your data to ensure it is safe in the event of a hardware failure or software corruption. If you require further information on how to secure your data, then please contact us.

Software

As a member of the University of Oxford you are entitled to the following software:

Anti-Virus

If you don’t have any up to date anti-virus software on your computer the University provides a free copy of Sophos Anti-Virus.

Office 365 and OneDrive

Your SSO account will allow you to install a free copy of Microsoft Office on up to 5 personally-owned PCs and Macs, plus 5 mobile devices. It also includes 5 TB of OneDrive storage – please see the IT Services OneDrive page for more information about accessing this.

Virtual Private Network

Free Cisco AnyConnect VPN software is available if you need remote access from a personal computer to the University Network. This will enable you to access internal websites that are restricted by IP address and not SSO accounts. Other Departments may also run their own VPNs to access Departmental systems.

Rules & Regulations

While using Exeter or University IT systems you are obliged to follow the rules, regulations and Acceptable Use Policy of the College.

Internet Access

Please view the Jisc website for the full Internet Access Acceptable Use Policy.

Acceptable use consists of:

  • Use for academic purposes
  • Reasonable private use.

Unacceptable use consists of, but is not limited to:

  • Streaming or downloading via peer-to-peer systems, or any other method of obtaining illegal material
  • Use for any illegal purpose
  • Use for any commercial enterprises
  • Creation or transmission of any material containing obscene, offensive or indecent material.

Copyright infringements can be detected, reported and will invoke a fine.

Use of Computer Rooms

The Computer Rooms are shared spaces, so users are reminded to respect others working in the environment, and to leave the rooms as they would expect to find them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is my login for the Exeter College computers?

A: This is your SSO username and password, but the username must be followed by @OX.AC.UK (e.g. exet1234@OX.AC.UK). Please note this is case sensitive.


Q: I have forgotten my University Single-Sign On (SSO) account password?

A: You can reset your password by visiting the Webauth website and selecting option 2 ‘Reset your password’. To complete the process, you will need to answer the security question you set when activating your SSO account.


Q: I have forgotten my Remote Access (Eduroam Wi-Fi) password?

A: You can reset your Remote Access password by visiting the Self-Registration website. Login with your SSO account and you will see an option for ‘Change a Remote Access (eduroam Wi-Fi) account password’. You will need to allow 15 minutes for any password change to take effect.


Q: How do I access my University emails?

A:  You can access your emails via the Nexus website or using email software like Outlook.


Q: How do I add my University emails to my email client?

A: This will differ depending on your client but the IT Services website has instructions for adding your University email account to a number of popular email clients.


Q: How do I add my University emails to my smartphone or tablet?

A: This will differ depending on your email client but the IT Services website has instructions for adding your University email account to Apple and Android devices.


Q: How do I connect to the internet?

A: The Eduroam Wi-Fi network is the primary method of connecting to the internet within College. Please see the Internet Access section of this page for instructions on using Eduroam.


Q: Can I use a wired internet connection?

A: Wi-Fi is the primary method of accessing the internet in College but if your studies require the reliability of a wired connection please complete the Wired Ethernet Connection Request Form. Please be aware that a wired connection is not possible in all locations.


Q: How do I print to the College printers?

A: Please see the Printing, Photocopying and Scanning section of this page for instructions.


Q: Can I use my own printer in College?

A: Wireless printing is not possible via Eduroam but you can connect your printer to our internal Wi-Fi network ‘MyExeter’ instead (see the Internet Access section of this page for instructions). If your printer doesn’t support Wi-Fi we also have a limited supply of USB cables we can lend to you.


Q: Do you have a copy of Microsoft Office I can use?

A: A free download of Microsoft Office 365 Pro Plus is available to all University members. More information is available in the Software section of this page.


Q: Do you have any Anti-Virus software I can use?

A:  All students can download a free copy of Sophos Anti-Virus to use on their personal PCs. More information is available in the Software section of this page.


Q: My computer is faulty. Can you repair it?

A: We are happy to look at your computer and diagnose any faults with software or hardware. We are unable to repair hardware faults ourselves but can refer you to a local repair centre.


Q: Do you have a computer I can borrow?

A: We have a limited number of spare laptops that can be borrowed for short periods. Please email the IT Department at it-servicedesk@exeter.ox.ac.uk with your request.


Q: I have received an email asking me to validate my SSO account details, is this genuine?

A: It’s very likely to be a phishing attempt. Please forward us the email and we will check it for you. Be very careful when following links or downloading attachments from emails asking for personal information. More information is available in the Security section of this page.


Q: How do I manage my Multi-Factor Authentication methods?

A: Please visit the Microsoft Security Info page and login with your SSO account to add or remove Multi-Factor Authentication methods.


Q: I have lost access to the phone I use for Multi-Factor Authentication, what do I do?

A: Please email the IT Team at it-servicedesk@exeter.ox.ac.uk so we can verify your identity and reset Multi-Factor Authentication on your SSO account.