Employee: Common IT Questions

Read answers to common questions from new employees.  Faculty may also download the ITS Faculty Computing Handbook.  

Please contact the Help Desk at 313-993-1500 regarding any additional questions.

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    General

    Does the University provide computers for use at home?

    Should a supervisor approve a notebook computer for an employee's use, the employee is welcome to use the unit outside of the University.

    If an employee has been assigned a desktop computer and requires a notebook for conferences or off-campus meetings, the ITS department operates a loaner program where the employee may sign-out a unit for up to seven days. In addition, the employee may also sign-out a data projector as well. The employee is responsible for the care of the equipment and the employee's department is financially responsible, should negligence lead to the equipment breaking or becoming lost.

    Obtaining a headset, webcam, tablet, cell phone, or personal printer

    Acquisitions of peripheral devices are coordinated through the dean’s offices. In some instances, colleges will provide a personal printer while in other cases the college has standardized on printing to a centralized printer.

    Borrowing a digital camera

    Digital cameras are not provided by the ITS department but may be provided by an employee's department or through research funds for research projects.

    For those situations where a professional photographer is required, please consult with the Marketing & Communications department.

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    Hardware and Software Standards

    What hardware and software standards does Detroit Mercy have?

    The University has required standards for hardware and software purchased using institutional or external funds. Hardware standards are reviewed once a year in January in anticipation of the upcoming fiscal year’s refresh/recycle programSoftware standards are reviewed at the same time in anticipation of reimaging systems during the summer.

    Purchasing equipment that is different than the University or college standard

    Employees need to adhere to the University and college standards.

    Does the ITS department support Macs?

    Yes, both in the desktop and notebook format.

    Software installations

    In the Academic Computing Labs, the systems are locked down to prevent users from installing, uninstalling, or corrupting applications used in academic courses.  The ITS department handles the installation of software on a hard schedule – no exceptions. Please review the Academic Computing Laboratory Courseware Policy for more information.

    ITS strictly adheres to licensing and copyright terms and will not install any application without documented permission on file permitting the University to do so.

    Installation of applications on office computers is not recommended and in the future may be disabled. If an employee does attempt to install software, please adhere to the appropriate licensing and copyright terms. The ITS Help Desk will not install such applications or provide support to do so. If the University computer is negatively affected by the installation, the ITS Help Desk will reimage the computer back to the University standard application load set.

    The ITS department reserves the right to lock down all University owned computers, thus requiring coordination with the ITS Help Desk for additional applications.

    The fines for piracy start at $250,000 per title per incident. The University is not in a position to take on such fines.

    Uninstalling software

    The ITS Help Desk does not recommend that employees remove software from any computer. Some software may be dependent on others and removing one may inadvertently disable the other. If an application is removed from the standard application load set and required at a later date, the ITS Help Desk will use the re-image approach to re-install the application.

    Purchasing equipment with grant funds

    If a grant specifically stipulates a specific brand of computer, a deviation from the University standards is permitted only after accepting ITS’s terms for self-support. A form will be provided detailing these terms and must be signed in advance of acquisition.

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    Policies

    Is there one location where all IT policies are available?

    Yes.  All ITS policies are available on the ITS Policies page.  

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    Remote Access

    Remote access to TitanNet

    To request remote access to TitanNet, please submit an Account Application with "Remote Desktop Services" in the notes field. 

    Does the University provide internet service or cellular data service for home or remote access?

    No, the University does not provide internet service or cellular data service for remote access. Should an employee require such service, the employee's department can make arrangements with ITS; however, the cost of the service will be billed back to the employee's department.

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    Donations of Equipment

    Donating a home computer to the University for an office or lab

    The University does not accept donations outside of the University hardware standard. If the equipment exactly meets the standard, please contact the AVP for IT to coordinate the donation.

    ITS will not provide any services or support for such equipment and will not permit a connection to the network nor install any University software.

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    Accounts

    Employee account application process

    Generally, accounts are created during the hiring process. The necessary forms will be presented to the new employee during the intake process at the University and ITS will provision the account with the approved access. During that time the employee's supervisor is to explain in detail the importance of adhering to the instructions on the FERPA form. The new employee will also be required to sign an Acceptable Use and Security policy. The supervisor must pick up the new user packet and will deliver it to the new employee. The ITS department will only release the new user packet to the supervisor.

    Do employees who were students need to complete the account application forms?

    Probably yes. If access is needed in addition to email, all three forms need to be completed and submitted.

    Blackboard access

    Blackboard is the University’s primary learning management system and is available at

    A student can’t log in to a Detroit Mercy system. Can ITS give someone else the account details?

    No. The student will need to use the “Forgot Password” feature or directly contact the Help Desk for assistance.

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    File Storage

    Backing Up Files

    University files stored on the TitanNet system are backed up to tape by central IT on a regular basis.  The backups are then rotated to an off-site location every week.

    It is strongly advisable that personal files are also backed up to local storage devices, such as a hard-drive or flash drive. Under no circumstances should files contain personally identifiable information, such as SSNs or credit card numbers.

    Lost flash drives

    If personally identifiable information was stored on a lost flash drive, please report this immediately to the AVP for IT who will work with the University administration to address the potential situation.

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    Email

    Connect an email account to a mobile device

    The ITS department provides guides with setup instructions on connecting an email account to a mobile device.  Per University policy, ITS cannot do this for students or employees.

    Auto-forwarding email to another account

    All faculty (including adjuncts) and administration are required to use the University email account assigned to them for University-related business. Faculty and administration are encouraged to use other accounts for personal business.

    Vacation rules

    Please consult the for details on this process. 

    Creating a listserver

    Employees may submit a request for a listserver to be created at .

    Email storage space

    All email accounts are assigned 50 GB of storage space, along with an additional 1 TB of cloud storage through OneDrive.

    Mass communication using email

    Special listservers have been prepopulated to reach large audiences at the University. Please consult the Guidelines for Mass Electronic Communications for more information.

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    Equipment

    Getting a new computer with the refresh/recycle program

    New employees to the University who require a computer for their job will be provided one. Since 2003, the University has established a refresh/recycle program that refreshes computers for full-time employees once every five years and ITS operated labs once every three years. Part-time employees receive a recycled computer when available. New employees will inherit the computer of their predecessor and jump into the existing position within refresh/recycle cycle for that computer.

    In some instances, a supervisor may elect to use institutional or grant funds to purchase a new computer and “move up” the refresh/recycle timeline. In these instances, the older computer will be returned to ITS for recycling and the new computer will start on a five-year refresh plan. If the existing computer cannot be returned due to the continued need for its use, that computer will remain on the refresh program and the new computer will be considered a “departmental purchase.” Computers labeled a “departmental purchase” fall outside of the University refresh/recycle program and are refreshed only with departmental funds.

    Computers purchased on grants remain outside of the refresh/recycle program.

    A computer is useless and is not due for a refresh any time soon

    Contact the ITS Help Desk and they will work to return the University computer to a usable state or replace it with a recycled unit until the refresh date arrives.

    An employee inherited a desktop but requires a notebook computer

    Unless departmental funds are available to purchase a notebook computer, an employee will need to wait until the refresh date arrives before a new notebook is available. An employee may ask the ITS Help Desk to be put on a waiting list for a recycled notebook to be used until that point in time; however, units are rarely available.

    An employee may also look to apply for grant funds that would allow for the purchase of a notebook computer.

    Does the ITS Department have a loaner program?

    For employees requiring a notebook or data projector for off-campus use at conferences and other University-related events, the loaner program has limited equipment available for sign-out by full-time employees.  Students are not permitted to sign-out equipment through the loaner program.  For details on the loaner program please visit the ITS Loaner Program page.

    Equipment provided through the ITS Audio Visual and Classroom Support delivery services are dedicated for use on-campus and are not to be removed from campus.

    May students or student employees sign out equipment from the loaner program as well?

    Unfortunately, students and student employees may not sign out equipment from ITS.

    May students or student employees sign out equipment from the ITS Audio Visual and Classroom Support department?

    Reservations of equipment for student use needs to be arranged by the faculty member teaching the course for which they require the equipment. Equipment will be delivered to the classroom and picked up, as is the normal process.

    Bringing personal equipment

    The ITS department will not provide any services or support for personal equipment and, for security reasons, will not permit a connection to the network nor install any University software. Please see ITS-004 Faculty and Administration Network Connectivity Policy for more information.

    Obtaining a printer

    An employee may contact his/her supervisor for the departmental procedures to obtain a printer. At Detroit Mercy, most users print to a centralized copier machine and do not have a local printer.

    Can employees get educational discounts like students?

    In some cases, yes. Please visit the Personal Purchases page for more details.

    A University computer is running slow

    First, reboot to see if the computer continues to be slow. If it continues, contact the Help Desk for assistance. Please note the University standard operating practice involves minimal investigation, but more of a focus on reimaging the unit back to a clean state. Keep in mind that documents stored on the computer's internal hard drive will slow this process down. The ITS department strongly recommends storing all University-related documents on the TitanNet server.

    Moving equipment

    If relocating to a new office, please submit a Help Desk ticket at  with the location details. 

    On the University network, the employee will need to coordinate the move with ITS. The network is a rather complex and moving a computer from one office to the next may result in the computer not obtaining a valid network address.

    As much advance notice that can be provided is appreciated.

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    Outdated software?

    Outdated software

    If the software on a University computer is not the latest version, please contact the ITS Help Desk to schedule an upgrade or reimage of the computer.

    Can a piece of equipment (i.e. notebook) be signed out of an entire semester?

    Unfortunately not. The ITS department recommends that the employee speaks with his/her supervisor for financial support to accommodate the special need.

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    Getting my Computer Fixed

    Computer repairs

    Submit a ticket into the ITS Help Desk system at  or call (313) 993-1500. Please keep in mind that the ITS Help Desk does not provide repair services for an employee's personal computer equipment.

    Pop-ups indicating an infected computer 

    Usually, these are deceptive threats from malware or websites. The ITS Department advises refraining from clicking on contents within the window by using the “X” to close the window or right-clicking on the window in the taskbar and selecting close.

    Often, clicking on the links of the contents of these warnings will open the computer and files up to potential infections.

    If the computer has been infected, please contact the ITS Help Desk to schedule review and remediation. Please note: ITS does not do exhaustive investigations due to time constraints, but will reimage the computer back to a clean version of the operating system and applications.

    Computer virus

    The University standard application load includes pre-installed antivirus software that is scheduled for daily updates. The antivirus software may not be disabled or removed.

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    Phones

    Access voicemail

    Instructions on using the voicemail system are available on our .

    University cell phone

    With the permission of the employee's supervisor and their budgetary support, contact the ITS Telecom department to coordinate the acquisition of a University phone. The University has established contracts with several cell phone providers. The University does not transfer university office phone numbers to these lines but provides a new number. The employee may set the office phone to auto-forward to the cell phone.

    Personal use of the cell phone is guided by the Cell Phone Usage policy.

    Support is guided by the following Cell Phone and PDA Support policy.

    Will personal phone usage for business purposes be reimbursed by the University?

    The ITS department does not advise this type of agreement.  The decision is between the employee and the employee's supervisor.

    In certain departments where the University maintains a strong interest in retaining the cell phone number for consistency with callers to that line (e.g. Admissions, Advancement) use of a personal phone is not permitted.

    Update a phone entry in the directory

    Updates to the online phone directory available to the general public are pulled directly from the Banner system once per week. This information may be updated in the personal section of My Portal Self-Service.

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    Academic Computing

    Obtaining an application for research on a University computer

    If this is a commercial application, the employee will need to obtain a valid license. The employee may contact his/her dean’s office to coordinate the acquisition of the software. The dean’s office will work with ITS to obtain an educational quote and will then enter the order into the My Portal system. Once the software arrives, ITS will install it on the employee's University computer.

    If this is an open source solution, please coordinate the install with ITS.

    The ITS department stores several common applications (e.g. SPSS, NVivo) used for research. Please contact the Help Desk in advance to see if the software is already owned and available through the University for University computers.

    Reserving a lab for a class or for a semester

    Email labres@udmercy.edu as soon as possible with dates and times. Reservations are made on a first-come, first served basis. A confirmation email will be returned once the reservation is set. Should the lab not be available, ITS will let the employee know as soon as possible.

    What software is available on the lab computers or podiums?

    The lab computers and podium computer have the exact same software load set. This software load set is generally updated at the start of each term. Please note that these systems use a cleansing method; such that when the unit is rebooted, the computer returns to its original pristine state. Any user installed software or saved documents will be gone once the unit has been rebooted.

    For a list of all installed software, please visit the Academic Labs page.

    Does the ITS department have data entry services?

    No.

    What technology is available for the classroom?

    The ITS department has a room-by-room directory detailing the technology available. Please visit the pictorial directory online.

    For rooms without built-in technology, the ITS-AV department provides mobile delivery of projectors and notebooks, as well as a number of other devices. Mobile delivery reservations should be made as early as possible to ensure timely and accurate delivery of equipment.

    Can the ITS Department record my very important session?

    The ITS department regrets that recording services cannot be provided at this time.

    Training opportunities

    The ITS department provides a variety of training opportunities for employees and students. If an employee requires training on a specialized topic, ITS recommends exploring online resources via YouTube or in-person training through vendors, such as New Horizons.

    Does ITS offer work-at-home software?

    Under NO circumstances does Detroit Mercy provide work-at-home software for installation on personally owned computers. Faculty requiring locally installed software for use off-site should work with their dean’s office to arrange for a notebook computer or borrow a unit through the loaner program.

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    Internet Services

    Does the University have WiFi and, if so, where?

    Yes, all academic spaces plus Calihan Hall, residence halls, and various administrative offices.

    If there is no WiFi in an area.  Can employees install their own wireless access points?

    No. Eventually secured WiFi will be made available in the location.

    Creating websites

    The ITS department provides resources for all students and employees to establish their own websites.  

    Reporting errors on the University website

    Generally, contact the appropriate department. If unsure, please let the Marketing & Communications department know by emailing marcom@udmercy.edu.

    May employees use Spotify and other legal P2P services?

    To comply with the Higher Education Opportunity Act the University throttles down or blocks known P2P protocols commonly used by illegal P2P services. Should a legal P2P service use these common protocols, use will be limited.

    Is the use of OneDrive, Dropbox, or other cloud-based storage solutions permissible?

    Yes, provided personally identifiable information and administrative documents pertaining to University business is not stored in these locations. Generally, faculty documents pertaining to course materials, committee work, or research are fine for cloud-based storage.

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    Audio Visual & Classroom Support

    Learning to use the University’s multi-media podiums

    The Audio Visual and Classroom Support department will be glad to schedule a one-on-one or group session to show an employee how to use the equipment. Please contact the Audio Visual and Classroom Support department at av@udmercy.edu

    Are there computers available for students to use?

    Yes, there are several Academic Computing Labs available for students.  Other departments may have their own curriculum based labs or open computers in their locations.

    Is there a dedicated faculty lab or studio?

    Unfortunately not.

    Does AV have slide projectors?

    No.

    Does AV have film projectors?

    No.

    Playing YouTube videos in class

    Before depending on having a good clean connection to play a video directly from the web, ITS strongly suggests downloading and playing the video from external media. This eliminates the potential issues that may exist with YouTube’s website and Detroit Mercy’s connection. It also ensures that the faculty member has a copy of what he/she needs just in case the original version is removed or changed.

    Reserving equipment

    The form plus other pertinent information is available online on the Audio Visual page. Complete all areas and submit the form to the ITS Audio Visual and Classroom Support department as soon as possible. Equipment can never be reserved too early.

    What equipment can be reserved?

    Besides the available built-in technology in many classrooms, mobile delivery service can provide notebooks, data projectors, screens, DVD/VCR units, conference phones, boom box CD players, and a small microphone system.

    May equipment be taken off-site?

    Equipment distributed through the ITS Audio Visual & Classroom Support department may not be taken off-site. It has been exclusively purchased for the primary benefit of supporting the instructional needs of the University and is shared by many.

    If there is a need to take equipment off-site (e.g. to a conference), certain equipment may be signed out for up to seven days through the ITS Loaner Program.

    What if equipment breaks while it is being used?

    Immediately notify the ITS Audio Visual & Classroom Support department and, if the equipment is available, they will replace the broken equipment. Please be courteous and let them know so that professors who are planning to use equipment at a later time do not have a negative experience.

    Learning to use the equipment

    The Audio Visual & Classroom Support department will be glad to meet with an employee outside of the classroom setting to demonstrate how to use the equipment. Unfortunately, due to the large volume of deliveries required between class sessions, training cannot be provided five minutes before any class. Please contact the office at (313) 993-1800 or av@udmercy.edu to schedule a quick training session.

    Can foreign DVDs from other regions play on a DVD player?

    Don’t count on it. Contact the ITS Audio Visual & Classroom Support department a couple days in advance to verify that the media will properly play in the University equipment.

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    Teaching

    Grading instructions

    Instructions are provided by the Registrar’s office. Official grading is performed in the My Portal system. For more information, please contact the Registrar’s office at (313) 993-3313.

    Course evals

    ITS Web Services hosts an online evaluation system used by all schools and colleges, except the School of Dentistry. The School of Dentistry manages their own system.

    The course evaluation system is available online at .

    Each school has a different schedule as to when course evaluations are open and available for their students to complete. Generally, ITS will send an email to all students and faculty a week or two in advance with the dates.

    ITS strongly recommends faculty include the course evaluation information in their syllabus.

    Please be advised the schedule is firm; open and close dates are not adjusted. Confusion often arises when a “short course” ends prior to the standard end of the term and the evaluation period for the short course follows the end of the course which is at a different time when the majority of course evaluations are open.

    Are survey tools available for on-campus or off-campus surveys?

    The University has an online survey tool available to support the survey requirements of the University community. To author a survey, visit .

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