ITR's Welcome to JCU
Welcome to JCU
Please take the time to read this information or bookmark it to read later. It contains important information about Library & Computing Services available at JCU and you will find it useful as a reference.
InfoHelp
Information and assistance is available from InfoHelp, which is located in the Library building on each campus. InfoHelp can be contacted by email InfoHelp@jcu.edu.au or by phone
+61 7 47815500 Townsville
+61 7 40421029 Cairns
InfoHelp provides the first point of contact for Library and Computing Services at JCU. InfoHelp provides self help Guides and Tutorials, Training and information about the General Access and Teaching PC Laboratories available on campus for booking and general use for teaching and learning.
Your Account
As a member of the JCU community, you have a Computer Account. Your computer account affords access to computing and communications facilities, information systems and resources which are provided in support of your academic pursuit at JCU. The security of your account is important so please review the Account and Computer Security Guide which provides some useful hints to help you maintain your account and computer security. Access to student services is governed by the Student Information Access Policy.
Induction Training
New staff receive a Training Voucher in the Induction Package provided by Human Resources. Please contact Infohelp to book a training session with an IT Support Officer. JCU Personal Computers are imaged with a Managed Operating Environment and it is important that you know how to work in our environment. The training session will address this also provide advice on best practices in relation to accessing and using available services and support.
Policies and Procedures
James Cook University is committed to complying with Australian copyright laws. All users of the University facilities, resources, infrastructure and systems are required to comply with Australian copyright laws and with the University's policies and guidelines on copyright, information technology and the use of communication facilities at JCU. Information Management policies are available from the University Policy Library.
The University monitors and records network access and usage. The University also collects or receives personal information of a user in the course of managing the operation and use of its communication facilities.
Facilities usage is governed by policy and you agree to this policy by deed of enrolment or employment. Conditions for Use of University Computing and Communication Facilities and the Statement on Use of Communication Facilities under The Code of Conduct state that these resources are provided for use on university-related business with limited personal usage allowed. Policies and Procedures are published on the Information Technology & Resources page.
Students and staff have access to Online services via StudentsOnline, and StaffOnline respectively. These Online systems provide a gateway to your personal enrolment or employment information requirements. LearnJCU is the university-wide course management and delivery system and is used for online subjects, communication and discussion boards.
Quotas
Computing and communications, information systems and resources form a significant part of the University budget, and we value these services to ensure reasonable and equitable use. Therefore, like many other Higher Education Institutions, we have quota systems in place.
We have quota systems in place for Internet access, email and disk space. You should make yourself aware of the internet quota and how to make best use of it by reading the NetAccess Guide.
Disk quotas are set for usage on central systems and automatically enforced. Quotas are also set on electronic mail storage and you may receive automatic warnings should you exceed these. Electronic mail may be purged per the Email Quota and Purging Policy if it remains in your Incoming mailbox for longer than 3 months.
Email and the Web
JCU has a "duty of care" under Commonwealth legislation to filter and manage access to the Internet and to manage and control use of Copyright Material. Thus, you may find access to some Internet Web sites is restricted. Use of University Computing or Communication Facilitiesto copy or redistribute copyright material without the express permission of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden. Such use is governed by The Code of Conduct. This covers conditions of access to the Internet by JCU account holders, appropriate use, copyright requirements and compliance.
Contacting fellow students and colleagues by email is an excellent way to keep in touch and various aliases exist for subjects, courses and organisational staff aliases. These are available from the Contacts page to be used by lecturers, tutors, students and staff. It should be noted that these are for academic purposes and that inappropriate use of Email for Unsolicited or Spam Email may incur penalty under the Use of University Computing or Communication Facilities policy. You should be aware of the Communications Guidelines and Email Best Practice.
Most services including Email are provided via the web. This means that JCU account holders can use a Web Browser, to access the JCU WebMail service, securely login and deal with mail from anywhere; from JCU, from an internet service provider at home, or from a cybercafé. This makes it easy to get email, whether on or off campus, whether at home or on the other side of the world. This is the supported means of email access for undergraduate students. Staff and Postgraduate students have access using either JCU WebMail or supported email clients documented on the Library and Computing Services site.
Announcements and Offers
Looking to purchase a desktop or laptop computer? ITR negotiate various hardware and software agreements for staff and students. Please take a look at offers for staff and students on the Licensing Agreements and Offers page.
Central Computing and Network Communications status information can also be found on the Bulletin Boards. These provide advice of service outages and changes. You can opt to receive these via email or subscribe to an RSS feed.
Various Mailing lists are available for special interest groups. Staff and students can join lists to receive information or participate in discussion forums in LearnJCU.
ITR staff strive to provide the best service, making best strategic use of available resources. An ITR Status Report can be obtained 24 hours a day by dialing +61 7 4781 6555. I hope you find this information useful and once again, welcome to JCU.
Kent Adams
Director
Information Technology and Resources