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Helping you prepare for remote solutions

Whether you are working from home, attending class off-campus, or just want to know what remote work options are available, LTS can help make sure you have the best technology solutions. We have gathered the most relevant content for UWEC remote staff, faculty and students into one place so you can start preparing for a remote work/class environment.

LTS Help Desk Hours
Closed
LTS Help Desk - Spring Term Hours
Monday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Tuesday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wednesday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Friday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
  1. CLOSED
Sunday
  1. CLOSED
Effective from Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 until Friday, May 10, 2024
LTS Help Desk - Spring Break
Monday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Thursday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday
  1. 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday
  1. CLOSED
Sunday
  1. CLOSED
Effective from Sunday, March 17, 2024 until Saturday, March 23, 2024
LTS Help Desk Phone + Email Support Hours

Hours information is currently unavailable. Please contact this department with any scheduling questions.


Guidelines and Best Practices Using Windows Off-Campus

Information for Faculty/Staff

After you have read the recommendations below, if you still experience issues or have additional questions, please contact the LTS Help Desk at (715) 836-5711 or email helpdesk@uwec.edu.

Before taking a University-owned Windows computer off-campus

If you have not logged on to the Windows computer you are taking off-campus, power the computer on and log in. If this is not done before you leave campus, you will be unable to log in when you reach your off-campus destination. LTS may be able to help in these situations if you have already left campus, but we can’t guarantee that.

Logging in before leaving campus also ensures other problems that could prevent us from providing remote assistance are resolved.

How to ensure your Windows computer is staying updated off-campus

While working remotely, you should connect to campus with VPN at least monthly. This helps ensure your computer operating system patches and application updates are being installed in a timely manner. 

Patching and updates will take place during the early morning hours or Saturdays. If the computer has been powered off for a long period of time and patches have reached the end of the grace period, the patching and updates will become mandatory and take place at the first opportunity once the device is powered on. This may impact the computer’s performance while updates install.

To connect to the university’s Virtual Private Network (VPN), visit the Global Protect VPN knowledgebase article for directions.

Global Protect Installation and Use

How do I renew my Windows license?

If you have received a message stating your Windows license is expiring or has expired, please connect to the university’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) using Global Protect, and the license should automatically renew within an hour.

Global Protect Installation and Use

What is the guidance for login/logout and power management?

Whether your computing resources are on-campus or off, LTS recommends that at the end of the workday, you log out of your computer. Do not shut the computer off. This allows the computer to perform nightly or weekend maintenance tasks that are not possible if the computer is locked or powered off.

Am I able to access network shares when working remotely?

Faculty and Staff Personal (H:) and Departmental shares (such as S: W: P:) can be accessed when a VPN connection has been established with campus.

View the Network Drives Overview knowledge base article for details.

Student H: drives were turned off at the end of 2020, and they should now be using OneDrive to store their files.

Can I change my UW-Eau Claire account password while working remote?

When working remote, changing your campus password can be accomplished with a few extra steps: 

  1. Log in to your off-campus computer with your current password.
  2. Visit the UW-Eau Claire Account Password website and change your password. This will change your password for on-campus resources; however, it has not updated your off-campus computer yet.
  3. Log in to Global Protect VPN with your new password.
  4. Once you have an active VPN connection, lock your computer (Windows Key + L).
  5. Unlock your computer with your new computer password. This will update your off-campus computer with your new password.

At-Home Computer Resource Requests

Information for faculty/staff

Update 11/5/2021 – LTS has no remaining laptop resources to loan out to users. At this time, departments will be responsible for procuring additional computers for their employees for remote work purposes. Dell hardware orders are experiencing some significant delays in shipping, upwards of 6-8 weeks or longer. Please plan ahead.

Visit the LTS Technology Purchasing page for computer ordering information.

Employees are still allowed to bring their existing computer equipment home to work remotely, but are required to adhere to UW System and UW-Eau Claire policies and processes before working from home. The main details can be found on the following link, with the most detail existing on UW System’s policy page.

Before anyone is allowed to bring UW-Eau Claire technology home for long-term use, they must have an approved telecommuting agreement form on file within the HRS system. You are required to identify all of the technology you are bringing home for use in the defined categories on that form and keep this data accurate during your remote work arrangements with any changes.

LTS can provide the following items for employees only on an individual basis, and not large departmental orders. If an item is marked with "while supplies last," LTS will no longer carry stock of these items and departments will need to order their own. Contact LTS Consulting by emailing ltsconsulting@uwec.edu for assistance with identifying and pricing of computer peripherals through our trusted vendors that are set up as tax exempt with UWEC.

Email helpdesk@uwec.edu to make a request for any of the stocked items below.  If requesting on behalf of someone, please include their username(s) in the request so that LTS can track these requests properly.  Available items:

  • Video cables for monitors/displays
  • Video, USB, and other adapters/dongles
  • Wired keyboards and mice
  • Wireless mice (while supplies last)
  • USB Headset
  • USB WIFI network adapters
  • Network cables: specify the length you need when requesting, no more than 100 feet
  • Webcams

To request any of the above items, or if you need help disconnecting your office equipment to bring home, please contact the LTS Help Desk at helpdesk@uwec.edu or call 715-836-5711.  LTS is unable to come to your home to install equipment, unless approved through a request to Human Resources for ADA/medical reasons, but we will do our best to talk you through reconnecting your devices remotely.


Webcams and Headsets

Information for faculty/staff

LTS has been centrally purchasing webcams and USB headsets since spring of 2020, and will continue to do so as long as we are able.  We will be sure to update this website when availability changes for these items.  If you need a webcam, USB headset, or any of the other items listed in the previous section:

  • Contact the LTS Help Desk by emailing helpdesk@uwec.edu or call (715) 836-5711
  • Include the number of items you need and provide the usernames of who each of these items is for
  • If possible, provide the 7-digit UWEC inventory sticker number for the computer these devices will be used with for each username
  • You may combine requests for multiple items into a single message
  • These items will remain paid for by LTS unless otherwise indicated
  • Request only what you need now; do not stock for your department
  • The models of hardware purchased function for both Windows and Mac platforms

Printers, Scanners, and Other Peripherals

Information for faculty/staff

Printers and Scanners

Faculty and staff are allowed to bring printers and scanners home that were directly connected to their work computer and will continue to be used in conjunction with that work computer. All other printers need to remain on campus. You are strongly encouraged to modify your workflow to reduce the need for printing where possible. If you do take a printer and/or other campus technology home for long-term use, as outlined in the At-Home Computer Resources Requests section above, be sure you have a current approved telecommuting agreement on file in HRS with this hardware’s information before bringing it home.

LTS can provide remote assistance with connecting a printer or scanner you already have at home to your work computer at home, as this may require administrator rights to install. Mac computers should not require admin rights to add printers. Contact the LTS Help Desk at helpdesk@uwec.edu or call 715-836-5711 for assistance.

Printer Supplies

Ink and toner supplies for university-owned printers ONLY are still required to be purchased through the mandatory vendors within the Shop@UW portal. Any orders must be delivered to a UWEC address at this time. Staples is the provider for new ink and toner purchases. Buy On Purpose is the vendor for refurbished. Purchase of supplies for personally owned printers is not allowed and will NOT be reimbursed. Please contact purchasing@uwec.edu with any purchasing questions.

Printing Services

Printing services are still available, and the print office is still providing delivery services on campus.  Curbside pickup is available between Schneider and Phillips Hall if you contact Printing Services ahead of time.  Please visit the Printing Services website for up-to-date information.

Other Computer Peripherals

For any other items not covered above, please send your questions to ltsconsulting@uwec.edu and we will respond to you as quickly as we can. LTS is providing display cables, adapters, keyboards, mice, USB wireless adapters, webcams, USB headsets, and Ethernet cables up to 100' long as requested. We will do our best to keep supplies in stock.


Network Drives

Information for faculty, staff, and students

OneDrive is the preferred option for personal network storage, instead of using your H: drive. Not only are files in OneDrive backed up automatically, OneDrive also makes it incredibly easy to access and share these files on other devices and the web. Please visit the Office365: OneDrive Introduction Knowledge Base article for more information.

You may access your network drives (H-Drive, S-Drive, etc.) through a web browser by navigating to files.uwec.edu

Documents that are only available on your office computer are at risk of being lost in the event of a hardware failure of your computer.  LTS has no way to recover files stored locally if your hard drive fails.  You should immediately move these files to OneDrive or your H-Drive to access them from home and other mobile devices conveniently.

Note: Student H-Drives were disabled at the end of 2020 and students are now using OneDrive for their file storage needs, and should be reminded to not store files locally on any UWEC-owned computer.


Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Information for faculty/staff

When working at home, you can securely connect to UW-Eau Claire’s network by utilizing our Palo Alto Global Protect client.  Your UW-Eau Claire computer should already have the Global Protect client installed and ready for use.  If it doesn’t or you need it on your personal computer, the link below will walk you through the process of setup and usage of the client.


Email and Calendar

Information for faculty, staff, and students

Office365 is the recommended tool for accessing your email and calendar off-campus. Office365 allows you to access Microsoft applications include: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more.

There are two ways to access Office365: online through a web browser, or by installing Office365 on your personal device. Please note that you can only install Office 365 on a total of 5 devices.

You can open your campus email by going to: webmail.uwec.edu or by clicking the envelope icon on the UWEC home page.


Conferencing and Collaboration Tools

Information for faculty/staff

Zoom in Canvas is the primary tool available for instructors wishing to maintain a synchronous class schedule.  Please work with CETL if you would like help setting up your course with this tool.

Staff and class-related meetings where Canvas is not suitable can be set up with any of the following software:

  • Microsoft Teams for both asynchronous and synchronous collaboration, including shared files, calendars, video calls, etc., for both instructional and staff team-related work.
  • Zoom is now available for all UWEC users to receive a Pro account and can handle meetings of up to 300 participants

Classroom Instructional Technology Resources

Information for faculty/staff

Visit the Classroom Technology knowledgebase page for information about what is being provided in classrooms to support the new space requirements for teaching. Some of the items on this page include webcams, document cameras, and microphones.


Eduroam

Information for faculty/staff and students

Eduroam is a global wireless network access service for research and education.  Since UW-Eau Claire is a part of Eduroam, any faculty, staff, or student can visit other participating Eduroam institutions, connect to the "Eduroam" wireless network, and use their UW-Eau Claire credentials to access the internet.  

More information regarding Eduroam and where it is available can be found by following the link below.


Internet Service Provider Reimbursement

Information for faculty/staff

Employees who do not currently have internet service at home should work with their local Internet Service Provider (ISP) to establish service. At this time there are no options to be reimbursed for at-home internet service, and any fees associated with internet service use at home are the responsibility of the employee. If you have any questions about ISP reimbursement, please contact the ASK Center by sending an email to askcenter@uwec.edu.


Personal Computer and Software Purchases

Information for faculty, staff, and students

University students, faculty, and staff have access to discounts on hardware and software for their personally owned computers and devices. Each of these services has a catalog of products, though some limitations may apply. These services are not currently available to graduated students or retired faculty and staff. Students must be currently enrolled to take advantage of these services. LTS generally only supplies recommended specifications for hardware and not specific vendors. Educational discounts for personal purchases of Windows computers have not been significant and online sales direct from manufacturer websites have had better savings. Apple does provide some educational discounts, which can be found using the link below.

Please visit our Purchasing Personally Owned Technology knowledgebase article for current information.


Phone and Voicemail

Information for faculty/staff

All employees have access to voicemail and can set up remote access to receive calls off-campus using a computer or mobile device. For more information on how to forward calls, set up voicemail, or to learn more about the Cisco Jabber softphone client, visit the LTS Telephone Services knowledgebase article.


Public WiFi Locations

Information for faculty, staff, and students

The UW System has partnered with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to create a statewide map of public WiFi locations where "drive-in" internet access has been made available.  Use the link below to find parking lots with public WiFi access.


Purchasing Information

Information for faculty/staff

Frequently Asked Questions

Purchasing has put together a page answering common questions regarding purchasing processes and procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please use the link below to visit this page.

Shipping Off-Campus

The ASK Center has created an eform for faculty/staff to request shipping to an off-campus address, including home addresses. Use the link below to access this form, or visit eform1.uwec.edu and select "ASK - Administrative Support + Knowledge Center" and then "Shipping Off-Campus - Exemption Request Form" to begin the eform.


Remote Desktop

Information for faculty/staff

If you are working off campus and need to connect securely to your office or research computer, the LTS Help Desk and LTS staff can assist you to make sure this is set up securely at 715-836-5711 or by email at helpdesk@uwec.edu.


Room Availability

Information for faculty/staff

The processing of classroom assignments has changed due to COVID-19. Please log into 25Live (linked below) using your UWEC credentials to view availability or submit a reservation request for a room in any of the academic buildings. You may also view up-to-date schedules on Sharepoint without logging into 25Live. Questions should be directed to scheduling@uwec.edu.


Software Availability

Information for faculty, staff, and students

LTS is working with vendors to provide access to common software titles (including Office365 and Adobe Creative Cloud) that students will need to complete coursework on their personal computers.  In most cases these software titles can be installed directly on your personal computer.  Other titles are available in Virtual Lab, though access may be limited during peak usage hours.

Adobe Creative Cloud is available to all employees and student employees for installation on personally owned devices for work at-home purposes. Student academic use on personal devices for at-home use continues to evolve. To find out what’s available for you, please visit the Installing Adobe Creative Cloud page for up-to-date information.

IBM SPSS can be installed on personally owned devices by following the instructions in the "Installing IBM SPSS" link below.

Employees using university computers at home can install most software titles using the Software Center (Windows) or Self-Service (Mac).  Make sure you are connected to the VPN before accessing these tools.

For questions about software availability, contact the LTS Help Desk at helpdesk@uwec.edu or call 715-836-5711.


Virtual Desktop

Information for faculty, staff, and students

Virtual Lab (Lab Anywhere) makes university-supported software available to students, faculty, and staff on their personal computers and tablets. In fact, it can be accessed through any Windows PC, Mac, iPad, or Android tablet on a high-speed Internet connection. The software has the same functionality as if it were installed on a personally-owned computer. While not all of the university-supported software is installed on the virtual lab, over 100 applications, including Microsoft Office, are available.


Information Security

Information for faculty, staff, and students.

FERPA

All faculty and staff choosing to work remotely during this time should follow best practices to preserve the security of university-related and particularly student-related data, in compliance with FERPA:

  • Avoid saving files on personal/home computers.  If you must download something to your personal machine, be sure to delete it when you're done working with it, and consider uploading to your UWEC network drive.
  • Keep paper files secure, particularly any documents containing sensitive information.  Shred any such documents when you are done using them.
  • Limit access to your work area.  This includes properly locking / password-protecting your devices and any physical materials you bring home.
  • Use secure channels for university-related communication.  Same as you would when working at your campus office, use best judgement on what should be communicated over phone, e-mail, etc.

Multi-Factor Authentication for All Students

With more services and interactions being done remotely, multi-factor authentication is more important and necessary than ever. The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire uses Duo Security as its multi-factor authentication solution. It has been integrated with over 40 applications on campus for all faculty, staff, student employees, and to a limited degree, general student accounts. If you have not already been added to this free service and wish to opt-in to the multi-factor service group, you may find the following Duo Security: Overview knowledge base article helpful.

Phishing Attacks

Recently, UW-campuses have encountered an increasing number of COVID-19 related phishing attacks.

Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire important, personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers by pretending to be a legitimate source. A common way to accomplish this sort of attack is via phishing emails. To learn more about phishing attacks, and how to identify them, view our Security: Phishing Attacks knowledge base article.


Outage Notices

Information for faculty, staff, and students

Stay up to date on network outages and planned maintenance windows via the LTS Outages site.  All faculty, staff, and students can subscribe to service outage alerts and information via email.  In addition, the More Services menu contains links to service status pages of third-party resources, including Canvas, Duo, Office365, and more.