New Students
The tabbed guide below will help you familiarise yourself with Bath University Computing Services. We know that as a new student it can be difficult getting to grips with all the new information there is to take in. To make the experience less overwhelming we have chosen to focus on key areas that will help you make the most of your time here.
Account Access
Your Computing Services (BUCS) account is your passport to all the IT services available here at the University of Bath.
You need to register before each academic year starts in order to have full access to the computing facilities. You can do this online at the Registration on-line link.
To reset your password you can visit the password change page this is the password you use to access University email, computing facilities etc.
Once you have registered you can log in to any of the public access PC's, use email, surf the web, print lecture notes, write assignments, create your own web page and much more.
Staying safe on campus
Students are advised to run an upto date antivirus program. All students have access to use Sophos Anti-virus (free to all students)
We encourage all staff and students to use a strong password and change them regularly. Find out how to change your password.
Dont get caught out by downloading content that is copyrighted, read computing Service's stance on the use of peer-to-peer applications Copyright
We filter out hundreds of spam, phishing email every day, however, some still get through, protect yourself against scams by reading more about Hoax emails
Read the terms and conditions of your use of University IT services Acceptible use policy
Access to the Internet
As long as you have a valid University of Bath username and password you have the ability to get access to the university network where you will have available:
- printing
- Filestore
- The Internet
Wireless: Wireless is available in most of the residences and around most of campus - the university wireless service is called eduroam.
See our connecting to wifi (eduroam) PDF
Resnet: In residences ResNet (residential wired network) gives users wired access from all University accommodation
- ResNet setup instructions Xbox 360
- ResNet setup instructions Playstation 3
Public access computers: There are computers available around campus for students to use to gain access.
University remote desktop (UniDesk) UniDesk gives you access software for your course without installing it on your computer. See our quick PDF guide for accessing UniDesk.
Docking: Docking involves physically connecting your laptop computer to one of the publicly available docking stations
The campus computer shop located on level 2 in the Library sells all the necessary bits and pieces that you will need to get your computer networking.
Filestorage
As long as you have a valid University of Bath username and password you can store and retrieve your personal files on the campus file servers.
Every user account has a storage quota this is so that everyone can have enough disk space for their needs. You can see how much space you've used with the account manager
Here are the main ways of getting filestorage:
H-drive: Access the files on your University account without logging into a University computer Map to your h drive. See our quick PDF instructions on how to Map drives on your computer.
Moodle: Access online content for your course provided by your lecturers Moodle - virtual learning environment
Learning Material Filestore: this is the University of Bath's provision of online file storage to all its students and staff see Learning Materials Filestore.
Email and Instant messenger
Electronic communication forms a significant part of studying and working at the University.
Webmail: Find out more about the University email service webmail
Instant messenger: use the messaging service Jabber to send instant messages to other students
Moodle: Message your lecturers on Moodle, post on forums if your lecturer has set one up or write a blog Moodle
Follow us on twitter: Get up-to-date information from Computing Services on University IT services BUCS twitter feed
Printing with managed print service
All printing is centralised. This means that when you want to print a web page or an essay it will be sent to a queue. You then need to go to one of the printers in the library or in your department and log in to print it out.
You will need your library card and your pin to retrieve the document from the printer. The document will stay in the queue for 48 hours, which means that you do not have to pick it up straight away.
You can get more information about printing in the printing section of the BUCS website.
Or see our PDF guide on printing from your own laptop
PCs on Campus
The library PCs are available for anyone with a University username and password. All the computers are networked and connected to the internet.
Make sure to familiarise yourself with the Acceptable Use Policy to avoid being banned or fined.
All public-access computers have Microsoft Windows 7 and office 2010 installed.
To learn more about where you access computers see our where to find a computer page
To find out how to access files from these computers see the where to find your files page
Software
University of Bath Computing Services (BUCS) offers a variety of software which are made available to the various parts of the University.
Licensed software: see a list of all licensed software in our Software Directory
Software discounts: Save money on software with student software licencing schemes Discounted computer software
Public Access to Software: There are on-campus computers avaliable for students to use that run Windows 7 and a wide range of programs Public access computers
Course specific software: access software for your course without installing it on your computer University Desktop Service (uniDesk)
Free Microsoft software: Microsoft dreamspark offers students free access to many microsoft products.
Training
There are a few ways that extra training is available to students here on campus:
Undergraduate Sorted Training Get training from Sorted to improve your IT skills
Postgraduate Training BUCS provide courses, guides and information in many popular software packages
Postgraduate Research skills The Researcher Development Unit provides development opportunities for doctoral students and research staff
Help
Contact us directly
There are many ways you can contact us directly, use our online help form to tell us your problem. Visit us at the Service Desk for all general computer and network queries. Call us about general enquiries on (01225 38)3535 or for MIS Service Desk call on (01225 38)3434. Our staff are available to help from 9am till 5am Monday to Friday.
Students can book at the service desk to bring their laptop in if they have problem see Laptop Surgeries.
If your request is urgent and it is outside our staff hours view our out of hours serious fault procedure for how to request help.
Visit our forum YouGuru to ask information on gamesconsoles, Macs, Linux and smartphones.
Find out more about our service
To find out more details on the type of problems we can help with visit our About Service Desk page
To find out more about how we deal with your requests visit our Requesting help page
Training