Updated for 2011. Please review this information for important changes.
St. Gregory’s University is a “laptop wireless university”. A campus-wide secured wireless network is available for registered laptop users utilizing either XP Professional or Windows 7 Professional operating systems to access the internet , keeping them connected, informed and up-to-the minute. The endless resources of the Internet are at your fingertips, and our campus network allows you share your discoveries with your friends and use e-mail to send messages and questions to your professors or just keep up with your family back home. You can even take your laptop to the SGU Cyber Cafe in the Rockwood Center and surf while you eat. Taking assignments home over the weekend? If you have home internet service, you can work from your parents’ living room and send your assignments back to your instructor. Students can also save their work to a flash drive so they will be able to work on their schoolwork at SGU as well as at home.
Students wishing to use the secure wireless network must have a laptop that meets the specifications shown later below. They must then take it to the Help Desk so St. Gregory’s technicians can put it on our secure wireless network. Although St. Gregory’s makes every attempt to ensure that information sent over our network remains secure, we advise students to use caution over the web when entering credit card information, social security numbers or other sensitive data over the Internet.
Students who do not register a laptop, who use a desktop computer, or who use an operating system other than XP Pro or Win 7 Pro are still able to access the internet through the use of an Ethernet cable. Each dorm room has at least two “network drops” to which students can connect. Most common areas and some classrooms also offer internet drops for laptop connectivity. In fact, there are more than a thousand wired connection points on campus to connect a laptop using an Ethernet cable!
Although St. Gregory’s does not require laptops, and no laptop registration is necessary, students will be expected to have sufficient computer skills to enable them to use Microsoft Office, including Outlook. The Rockwood computer lab is available for students to use free of charge 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Computers are also available in the library or Multimedia Lab when a class is not in session, for student use during school hours. Many professors encourage or require students to email their completed assignments. St. Gregory’s creates an email account for student use at no charge. Microsoft Office is installed on all lab computers, so students who use the computer labs will be able to complete and email their assignments as required by their professors.
For students who have registered a laptop, SGU has a fully functional Help Desk to answer most any software or network questions you might have. The Help Desk will provide assistance to registered laptop owners free of charge (with the exception of software re-installs, virus and spyware cleans and hardware parts and repairs) for the student currently enrolled at SGU. A fee may be assessed for any repairs of registered computers if the repairs require significant time or resource expenditure.
Windows Vista is not supported for maintenance or repair (however, laptops can be upgraded and registered with the Windows Vista Business operating system.) Laptops with Windows XP Professional and Windows 7 Professional will not need to be upgraded for registration. If your computer has Windows XP Home or Windows 7 Home (which is required to join our campus network) we can upgrade it. If you opt for the upgrade of your laptop, we will assess a small bench fee of $55.00 for the operating system free upgrade to either XP Pro or Win 7 Pro installation of provided software and is payable upon completion of the upgrade. Apple computers cannot be registered on the St. Gregory’s domain, but we will try our best to set them up to use our secure wireless. Laptops with non-English operating systems also cannot be registered and may not be able to use the wireless, but they may access the internet through the use of an Ethernet cable.
Specifications for laptop registration:
• Windows PC Laptop (No Mac or Ubuntu laptops).
Required Processor Speed:
• 2.3 GHz single core Intel Pentium processor or higher.
• 1.6 Ghz Pentium M, Centrino Processor.
• Any Intel Pentium Dual-Core, Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Turion 64, Turion 64x2 Dual-Core, Quad Core, i-3,i-5, i-7 or higher processor.
• Single core Celeron and Sempron Processors are NOT ACCEPTABLE.
• 13.0" TFT screen or larger is highly recommended.
• 80-Gigabyte Internal Hard Drive or larger.
• DVD/CD-RW or DVD/RW recommended.
• 2GB RAM, or more, for increased performance.
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
• 1-2 USB ports.
• Onboard or USB external mouse.
• Sound card built in.
• Integrated Ethernet network card with wireless.
Optional but RECOMMENDED:
• Kensington secure lock system.
• Insurance on laptop.
• Lojack (or similar) software to help locate “lost” laptops.
• Laptop bag.
What SGU Provides...
St. Gregory's University provides students who register a laptop with the following software:
• Microsoft Office 2010 Professional (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access)
• Symantec Endpoint Protection (Antivirus).
• License to access domain resources on the campus network.
Registration Process
• Purchase a laptop that meets the above minimum specifications.
• Bring your laptop to the SGU Help Desk.
St. Gregory's University technicians will install the above software, set up the computer on our campus network and register the laptop. Please understand that the Help Desk will need your laptop to complete the installation process. Additionally, due to the large number of laptops received at the beginning of the school year, registration may take several days before laptops are returned to their owners. Students are encouraged to check with Help Desk staff to check on the current estimate of wait time before leaving their laptop. While there is no time frame that must be met to register a laptop, students waiting to register their laptops can still access the internet and email through the computer lab, or using Ethernet cables if they have kept their laptop to return later for upgrade.
More questions?
If you have questions about the laptop program, if you are not sure if the laptop you are considering will meet registration specifications, or need suggestions where to purchase a laptop, please feel free to contact the St. Gregory's help desk at 405-878-5686. You can also e-mail your questions to the Help Desk at helpdesk@stgregorys.edu.
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