Information Technology Department & Resources

Thanks for stopping by the SDCC IT department web page. We are glad you are here. The SDCC information technology team is pleased to provide computing and web support services the college’s students, faculty, staff, and other constituents. We are here to serve you so please feel free to contact us by phone or drop by our offices (2nd floor of the administration building on the north side) if you ever have an information technology related question or problem.

Our main helpdesk phone number is 619-590-1709 (or x1709 from campus phones).

General Services

The IT department supports campus technologies including, but not limited to:

Wired and wireless network and internet connection
Faculty, staff, and student file storage, printing, and e-mail
College data and information resources (registration, account information, business systems)
Web services including www.sdcc.edu
Blackboard learning management system
Faculty and staff technology training problems
Lab and common area computers
Telecommunications

Student Resources

All residential students are provided with a wired network connection in their residence hall (one connection per person living in each room). Students must provide their own Ethernet cable to connect their computer to the data port in their room. 7 foot long cables are typically adequate.

Wireless internet access is provided to computers with wireless network cards in certain “hot spot” locations on campus. These locations include the student lounge, the pavilion/café, and the library. Additional wireless access will be available soon. Therefore, we recommend that all student laptops are purchased with 802.11n capable wireless network cards. Students should use the wireless network with the name “STUDENT”.

Each student is provided a network account that provides access to sdcc.edu e-mail and Blackboard. These accounts are assigned upon admission to the college and username and password details will be provided via e-mail (to which ever non-SDCC e-mail is on file). Official communications and notifications to students typically are sent via this e-mail system.

Computers are provided for student use on the third floor of the Administration Building during posted lab hours.

Computer Registration

Each computer or network device that is brought onto campus must be registered before use. The registration process will check to make sure each computer has one of a number of supported anti-virus packages installed (see below for list of supported software packages). Students are able to register a computer themselves. When first connected, any web traffic will be redirected to a registration page. The registration process must be completed before network access is allowed.

Other types of devices such as game systems and other systems without web browsers can be registered in most cases, but should be brought to the IT department offices to complete this process.

Mobile devices are allowed on the wireless network, but may need to be brought to the IT department offices for registration.

Hardware and Software Recommendations

SDCC encourages, but does not require students to bring a laptop computer for use during the studies. While not required for computers already owned by students, the IT department recommends the following minimum specifications for new systems purchased for college use:

2.0 Ghtz Intel or AMD processor or higher
2 gigabytes of RAM (memory)
160 gigabyte hard drive
802.11n wireless network card
1 gigabit wired network card

While the IT department support many types of computers, we use and recommend Dell laptops and Apple laptops for student use.

In addition, we recommend the following operating systems:

Windows

Windows 7 (recommended)
Windows Vista
Windows XP SP3 is supported, but not recommended

Apple

OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard (recommended)
OS X 10.5 Leopard

Anti-virus

We require that a supported anti-virus package be installed on all PCs. If you do not wish to use a commercial product, AVG anti-virus is available at no cost from http://free.avg.com . Supported packages are:

AVG (free)
Avira
ClamAV
Grisoft
Kaspersky
McAfee Home and Enterprise
Microsoft Security Essentials (free, recommended)
Norton (recommended)
PCtools
Panda
Softwin BitDefender
Symantec (recommended)
Trend Micro (recommended)
Webroot AV

Anti-virus software is currently not required for Mac OS X users. Please do not install more than one anti-virus and one anti-spyware package on any one computer as AV software can conflict with other similar software installed on the same computer.

Other Recommended Software:

Microsoft Office 2007 or Office 2003 (with .docx compatibility pack which is available online)
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac
Firefox 3.X for PC or Mac
Spybot , Ad-aware, or Malware Bytes for anti-spyware protection

File Storage and Data Backup

As computers and hard drives are prone to failure at the worst possible times, please consider backing up all important files (documents, photos, music, videos, etc.) on your computer. Backup methods include external storage devices such as flash drives and external hard drives. Windows 7 Backup and OS X Time Machine both offer automated systems for backing up data. Remote backup services are offered (for a yearly charge) by companies such as Carbonize, Mozy, and Backblaze for PCs and Macs. The IT department does not test these remote backup systems, but offers them as suggested options for your consideration.

Here to serve you!

Again, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to e-mail the IT help desk or call 619-590-1709 (x1709 on campus). Our offices are located on the north side of the Administration building. Thanks!

Updated April 2010