When a computer is stolen, malfunctions or becomes damaged, data loss can be a huge setback. As such, beginning even prior to the first day of school, all students in educational programs in the SSPPS are required to make regular back-ups of documents and data related to their program and courses. Students are strongly advised against relying on a separate hard drive, thumb drive or local sources as backup; cloud-based backup (see below) is preferred. For assignments requiring submission via E*Value, students are encouraged to load information into E*Value as soon as possible, not allowing it to accumulate for uploading at a later date. Please note that loss of data due to computer difficulties will not be considered a valid excuse for failure to meet requirements such as completing an assignment, meeting a deadline or performing on an exam.

Backup options:

Software:

These options can be used to backup data locally to a removable hard drive or large flash drive.

WINDOWS

• Windows Backup (included with your computer)
• NovaBACKUP
• Backup4All

APPLE

• Time Machine (included with Mac OS X)
• Carbon Copy Cloner
• SuperDuper!

Your computer may come with other backup software. Consult your documentation or computer vendor.

Cloud-based:

These services store your data remotely on the service provider’s servers, keeping it safe in the event of an unforeseen event, such as fire or theft. Many such services allow you to access your data from other computers anywhere in the world and automatically backup your computer at regular intervals (e.g. every 10 minutes). These include:

• Carbonite
• MozyHome
• Norton Online Backup

Microsoft OneDrive, which provides 5TB storage and is free to all students, can also be used as backup service.  For instruction on automatically backing up folders to OneDrive please see OneDrive Backup.

The SSPPS does not endorse any particular service or software. You are encouraged to evaluate the services and costs and select the one that best fits your needs. If you have any questions, please contact the SSPPS IT Office.

Students must ensure that reliable, fast internet connection is readily available for successful delivery of the curriculum. Required speeds and supplemental education technology requirements are provided below:

Students will check their internet connection at http://www.speedtest.net/ to confirm their upload and download speeds. If the connection does not allow the student to connect with the minimum speeds listed above, the student will contact their internet service provider to explore more options.

Faculty use the University approved platform Zoom to conduct online didactic curriculum assignments and to complete student services-based activities. Students with tight bandwidth are encouraged to set Zoom to “speaker view” instead of “gallery view” to reduce internet connectivity interferences.

We strongly recommend all students secure a “backup” internet connection, such as a mobile phone WIFI hotspot, 3G dongle or other mobile internet solution, which meets the above requirements.

Students in the CU SSPPS take exams and certain quizzes on their own computers. Some of these are based on campus and some of them you will take at home (or a site of your choosing). To ensure academic integrity on these, you will use a web camera (“webcam”) attached to your computer to share your environment. All students are required to have their own webcam that meets the following specifications:

1. Must be an external camera (ie, not the camera embedded in your laptop)
2. Must be either a gooseneck camera, a camera that sits on a tri-pod, or on a camera stand (see examples below)
3. The camera’s resolution should be at least 1080 pixels.

If you have any questions about this, please consult sop.iDesign@cuanschutz.edu with the subject line “webcam question” for advice.

Examples:

Webcam with 2 mics

Webcam with fill light