IUP uses e-mail as a standard form of communication with its students. Each student is responsible for checking IUP e-mail regularly.  Important information may be sent via e-mail by IUP administrators, your advisor, or your professors that deal with homework, graduation requirements, etc.

Every student is automatically assigned an IUP e-mail account at the beginning of their first semester, which will remain active for 60 days after graduation.   Students who want to retrieve their username, initial password, and other account information can follow the directions at http://old.www.iup.edu/techzone/FAQs/findinfo.pdf   If you want to tell your friends and family your address, it will be your username followed by @iup.edu.   (Example: ABCD@IUP.EDU). Students who want to automatically forward all of their IUP e-mail messages to another account can do so by following the instructions at http://old.www.iup.edu/techzone/FAQs/forward.pdf  

These web pages exist to let the IUP community know about changes that have happened or will be happening on campus. The Updates Section of the Student Technology Home Page lets students know about changes to the IUP computing systems and labs that may affect your e-mail account or your ability to get your course work completed.

This is an important habit. Yet it is so simple that it is easy to forget. Save your document files as often as you make changes. And since power outages can occur on campus, save your document occasionally if you are typing a lot of text for any length of time. Remember to use the "Save As" menu option to save your document with a different name if you want to revert to an earlier version of the work later.

Keep copies of your important files in multiple locations. For example, make copies of your homework files on your personal hard disk, floppy diskette, or a Zip disk.  

As an IUP student, you also have a "home directory" to use. Your "home directory" is mapped as drive H: when you login to the IUP network in one of our computer labs.   This is 50MB of space that you own, and can be accessed from our computer labs, residence halls, or any computer connected to the Internet.   Storing homework documents in your "home directory" means that you can work on your documents in more than one place without carrying diskettes around with you.   Student space is also automatically backed up on a regular basis, which makes it harder to lose your important documents.   Instructions for logging into the IUP network from a campus lab are available.   If you want to access this space from an IUP residence hall, then directions for logging into the IUP network from your room are also available.

IUP students are permitted to use the latest McAfee Anti-Virus on their computers at no charge. McAfee VirusScan is available for download from the Internet.

Set passwords for E-mail and network usage that are easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. Don't share accounts or passwords with anyone, even your close friends. IUP systems will require you to change your passwords every six months, but you can change a password more frequently if you want to have added protection.

For more details concerning the IUP policies in this area, see http://old.www.iup.edu/ats/policies/information.shtm.

If the service that you need is other than STS or provided by another office, then our staff will be happy to get you in touch with the proper group.  STS provides a Student Computing Help Desk for students to go to or call (724-357-4000) for advice or assistance with the problems/issues related to computers on the campuses of IUP.   STS can help you with problems that you might be having with your e-mail account at IUP.   The Student Computing Help Desk can assist with computer virus problems, web page development, etc.   For more information about Student Technology Services, check the web page at http://old.www.iup.edu/ats/sts/  

If you are looking for software to install on your computer, or to buy a new computer, printer, etc for yourself, then you should know that IUP has a store named Computers and More located on main campus at the Hadley Union Building.   Computers and More can get students certain software with academic discounts that make it much less expensive to purchase than it is at other locations.

Unfortunately, IUP does not have any hardware repair capabilities for our students.   But STS can help you to determine if repair is needed (rather than simply reloading software).

There are several websites designed specifically to help you get accustomed to campus and the community.
 Click here for a list of these websites.

Review the IUP Policies to avoid any possible misuse of University Computing Resources.
Refer to http://old.www.iup.edu/ats/sts/policy/index.shtm.

All services provided by Student Technology Services are free to students.   You can telephone or send e-mail to STS for advice or assistance, and receive the help that you need without worrying about paying for it. There is also a web page that identifies free software, etc for any IUP student.