Student Resources

Applies to: Students Revised: 2022-10-24 Status: Approved Answers the questions: What kind of computer should I buy? Do I need a computer as a student? What operating systems are supported by Asbury? What on campus technology do I have access to? What software can I download as a student? Overview This document will walk through the requirements and recommendations for computers that students will bring to campus or use to complete their work (online students). This document will also list the software available to students in the computer labs on campus and additional offerings of the University.  Questions and Answers about Computers at Asbury   Are students required to bring their own computers to campus? Do they need their own computers? Students are not required to bring their own computer to campus. The need varies by department and the area of study chosen by the student. Most departments neither require nor expect students to have their own computer. When a computer is required to complete class assignments, the computer labs on campus are readily available with all necessary software, printers and scanners. For more information about specific requirements for each area of study, contact the chair of the department. What are the minimum requirements/recommendations for student computers?   Windows Apple macOS Operating System Windows 10 or above. macOS 11 (Big Sur) or above. Memory/RAM 8 GB or more 8 GB or more Hard Drive 256 GB or more; Solid State Preferred 256 GB or more; Solid State Preferred Browser* *For the latest version of each browser check https://browsehappy.com Firefox 64 or higher Chrome 71 or higher Microsoft Edge 17 or higher Opera 55 or higher Firefox 64 or higher Chrome 71 or higher Safari 12 or higher Internet Access  (for commuters and online students) DSL, cable, educational, or corporate connection. A wired internet connection is required. Wireless hotspot access is not adequate for this program. Please note, many school systems and businesses may block connections to certain Asbury services.  What operating systems are supported on campus? macOS 11 and above, and Windows 10 and above. Though troubleshooting support is not provided for Linux, it is compatible with the campus network. Students who choose to use Linux are responsible for configuring their own systems. What computer resources (labs, printers, scanners) are available on campus? The University provides a network port for each student in a residence hall room, along with connections in many classrooms and throughout the Kinlaw Library. In addition to network ports being available throughout campus, wireless internet is also available in most classroom spaces, and in all undergraduate on-campus housing. Eight general-purpose computer labs are available to students, though most students elect to have their own computer. If students bring their own computer, Information Technology Services will provide them with directions for connecting to the network. Internet access and individual email accounts are available to all students. Students of Asbury University can receive discounts on new computers from Dell and Apple. What software is installed on campus computer labs? Each campus computer lab is updated, or "refreshed" on a yearly basis with the required software as requested by the Faculty. For information about what software is currently installed in our computer labs, please visit our Instructional Lab Academic Software Page. Does Asbury University provide any free software to students? Asbury University provides free antivirus software to all currently enrolled students and all current employees. You can find a copy of Microsoft Security Essentials and instructions for installing it at the link below. Any student, staff, or faculty member who needs additional help installing this software can contact the Service Desk. Microsoft Security Essentials Asbury University also provides a free license of Microsoft 365 to current students, faculty and staff for their computers.  How to Download and Install Office 365 Does Asbury University offer any discounts on software or operating systems for students? Asbury University does offer free access to the Microsoft 365. See the section above for instructions on how to download the software for current students, faculty, and staff.  If you wish to own a copy of the Microsoft License that will not expire upon graduation or departure from the university, you can purchase a copy through the bookstore. Asbury University provides a huge discount on the latest versions of Microsoft Office Suite (for both Mac & PC) to currently enrolled students. To obtain a copy of Microsoft Office, students must purchase the CD/DVD bundle from Asbury's bookstore (the Eagle Outlet). Students must present a valid Asbury University ID to make the purchase. Online Students may order the Microsoft Office Suite for either Mac or PC by calling the bookstore through the Main Campus Switchboard (859-858-3511). At this time, Asbury University does not sell or give discounts on any operating systems, or other software products.

Overview   This document will go over the ways to find and order textbooks for your Asbury in-person and online classes. Asbury uses the service eCampus as their online textbook retailer. You can purchase your books through eCampus or view them on eCampus and then purchase from a third party (such as Amazon).  How to Find Textbooks   Through Portal: To find your textbooks through Portal, you will need to log in to portal.asbury.edu with your Asbury credentials.  1. Once you have signed in, you can view textbooks for any class by looking that class up through the Class Lookup. If you wish to view the textbooks for a class you are already registered for, click on Class Schedules. If you want to check the required textbooks for a class while you are registering for classes, click on Class Registration. a. In this example, we will click on Class Schedules to view our already registered classes.  2. Next, you will need to select the term you wish to classes from. We will select Spring 2018 from the drop-down menu. 3. Now you will see a blue "Textbooks" button under all the classes you are registered for. Click on the button on the class you wish to view textbooks for. 4. This will take you directly to ecampus's website and the required textbooks for the class you selected. a. In this example, we have chosen to view the textbooks for BU 312 Small Business Management. Through eCampus:  If you already know which classes you want view books for, you can go straight to eCampus's website to check textbooks.  1. Go to asburyu.ecampus.com. You do not need to log in at this time. When you check out, you will need to use your Asbury email address to verify and you can choose to put the textbook cost on your student account. 2. Click on "Order Your Textbooks" to begin searching. 3. It will ask you to select the term you want to search through. In this example we will select Spring 2018. 4. Next, you will need to select the class. In this example, we want to look at textbooks for a Business class so we will select "BU" for Business. 5. Now you can specify which class you want to see textbooks for. In this example, we will choose BU 312 for the class. 6. Some classes may have multiple sections, select the section of the class you are in or select "A" if there is only one section of the class. 7. It will display the full course name. If this is the class you want to view textbooks for, click on the full title listing and it will turn purple to show you have selected it. a. At this time, you can click "Continue" to view the books for this one class. b. If you would like to view books for multiple classes at the same time, click on "Add Another Course" and walk through the same process. It will take you back to the class selection screen and you can pick the department, course number, and section for another class.  i. Once you have finished adding all the courses you wish to view, click "Continue" and you will see a full list of required books for all the classes. 

Overview This document will go over what to expect when sending your computer to the Service Desk to have it worked on.  This document will also go over what issues we are and are not able to fix, and what to do if we cannot resolve an issue for you.  What to expect: How do I turn in my computer? To turn in your computer to the Service Desk you need to bring the computer down to the Service Desk and let the worker there know that you are planning on dropping off your computer.  First you will be asked to fill out a brief document called a Repair Agreement form.  This form gives Asbury University permission to work on your computer.  Next you fill out a repair stub with as much information as possible, including phone number, computer password, and everything that went wrong with the computer in detail.  (Your password will be blacked out after repairs have been completed).  Then we will take your computer and begin working on it ASAP. Will I know what's going on? We will send update emails every night while working on your computer.  These emails will include updates on what we are working on, questions about your computer that might help us solve the issue, and when we have finished working on your computer.  So please check your email regularly while you have a computer with us! What we can and cannot work on: Almost anything you will have an issue with we can take a look at.  This includes physical damage done to the computer, viruses on the computer, etc.  We will not be able to fix your computer completely if there is serious psychical damage, such as a shattered screen or missing keys, but please feel free to drop the computer off anyway and we will have a look!  If your computer is still under warranty we will not be able to perform physical repairs on it without ending your warranty.  Because of that, if it is still under warranty we will send the computer back to you to send to the manufacturer to have them repair the computer for you.  Software repair does not affect the warranty.   Because each computer is situational, do not assume we can't fix it!  We will be more than happy to at least try solutions for you.  However, not every computer will be fixed by us, and sometimes fixing the computer may require you to purchase new parts or a new computer. 

Applies to: Students, Faculty, Staff Revised: 2022-10-24 Status: Approved Answers the questions: How do I take a screenshot? Overview This document will step through the process of taking a screenshot on a Windows or Mac computer. Taking a Screenshot on Windows If you are using a Windows computer, then you can use a program called snipping tool, which is built in to the system. The fastest way to find the program is to click the start menu and type in "Snipping Tool" and hit enter. The program will launch, and a new window will appear. You can select the mode of the screen shot, by click on "Mode". If you need to screenshot something that requires you to have your cursor over it, then use the "Delay" option. Once the options you need are selected, click "New". A new window will appear with the screenshot. You can highlight any information to draw attention to it, or ink private information out.  Clicking on the envelope will start your default email program and allow you to send the image.  Taking a Screenshot on macOS If you are using a mac, then you can use one of the two built in shortcuts for taking screenshots.  You can screenshot your entire screen with the shortcut shift-command-3. This will create an image file on your desktop. You can screenshot a selection of your screen with the shortcut Shift-Command-4. Your cursor will become a cross-hair, and you will be able to create a box around the selection you wish to capture. 

Overview   The Asbury Campus Calendar provides details on all events going on on campus  Instructions 1. On your device, smart phone, tablet, or computer, go to the website for the online calendar  https://www.asbury.edu/life/news-events/calendar/ 2. Click on the “subscribe” button in the lower right-hand corner of the webpage.  3. Now that you have the link, you can add this calendar to your preferred calendar. Here are instructions for different types of calendars: Adding to the Outlook Client - PC You try to add an Internet calendar in Microsoft Outlook 2016, Outlook 2019 or Outlook for Office 365 by following these steps: Switch to the calendar module. In the Manage Calendars group on the toolbar, click Open Calendar. Select the From Internet option. Provide the path of your Internet calendar file. Click OK. Adding to the Outlook Client - Mac See instructions below. You cannot sync an online calendar with the Mac Outlook client, you must add it online then it will sync to your client after that.  Adding to Your Online Asbury Email (Office 365) - Mac and PC Sign into office.asbury.edu At the bottom of the page, select  to go to Calendar. In the navigation pane, select Import calendar. Under Import calendar, select From web. Under Link to the calendar, type the URL for the linked calendar. Under Calendar name, type the name you want to use for the calendar. Select Import. Adding to Google Calendar - Mac and PC On your computer, open Google Calendar. On the left, next to "Other calendars," click Add   From URL. Enter the calendar's address (URL) in the field provided. Click Add calendar. The calendar will appear on the left side under "Other calendars." Note: It might take up to 12 hours for changes to show in your Google Calendar. https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37100?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&oco=1 Adding to iCalendar - Mac To subscribe to a calendar from a link on the Internet or an email you received, click the link. If you do this, you can skip step 1, and the calendar’s web address is filled out for you in step 2. In the Calendar app  on your Mac, choose File > New Calendar Subscription. Enter the calendar’s web address, then click Subscribe. Enter a name for the calendar in the Name field, then click the adjacent pop-up menu and choose a color. Click the Location pop-up menu, then choose an account for the subscription. If you choose your iCloud account, the calendar is available on all your computers and devices that are set up with iCloud. If you choose On My Mac, the calendar is saved on your computer. To get the calendar’s event attachments or alerts, deselect the appropriate Remove checkboxes. Click the Auto-refresh pop-up menu, then choose how often to update the calendar. To prevent alerts from appearing for this calendar, select “Ignore alerts.” Click OK. To make changes later, click the name of the calendar, then choose Edit > Get Info. https://support.apple.com/guide/calendar/subscribe-to-calendars-icl1022/mac Please Note: If you have previously subscribed to the online calendar at https://www.asbury.edu/life/news-events/calendar/, that subscription should continue without additional action on your part. Contact us: Call 859-858-5177 or campus extension 2177 Click to visit us online at http://www.asbury.edu/its   Or Visit us in the Kinlaw Library, room 131

Applies to: Students, Faculty, Staff Revised: 2022-10-24 Status: Approved Answers the questions: How do I clear my cache? How do I clear webpage errors? How do I remove saved cookies on my device? Overview This document contains instructions on clearing the browser cache in the major web browsers. Clearing your cache can often solve issues with visiting webpages or logging into Asbury services. Table of Contents 1. Google Chrome 2. Mozilla Firefox 3. Microsoft Edge 4. Safari Clearing the Cache in Google Chrome 1. Open Google Chrome. 2. For Windows and Mac     a. In the upper right-hand corner, open the menu by clicking on the three vertical dots and click "Settings." 3 Select from the sidebar. 4.) Under the "Privacy and Security" heading, click "Clear browsing data." 5.) In the menu that appears, change the time range to All time and make sure Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files options are checked. You may also check the Browsing history option to clear your search history, however, this is not required. 6.) Click Clear data and your cache will be cleared. Restart your browser.   Clearing the Cache in Firefox 1. Open Firefox. 2. In the upper right-hand corner, open the menu by clicking on the three horizontal lines and click Settings. 3. From the menu on the left-hand side, select Privacy & Security. 4. Scroll down to the Cookies and Site Data menu and click Clear Data... 5. Make sure "Cookies and Site Data" and "Cached Web Content" are selected and click Clear. This will clear your cache. Clearing the Cache in Microsoft Edge 1. Open Microsoft Edge 2. In the upper right-hand corner, open the menu by clicking on the three horizontal dots and click Settings. 3. Scroll down to the heading Clear browsing data and select Choose what to clear. 4. Make sure the options for Cookies and saved website data, Cached data and files, and Tabs I've set aside or recently closed are selected and click Clear. This will clear your cache. Clearing the Cache in Safari 1. Open Safari 2. In the upper left-hand corner, click Safari to open the menu and select Preferences. 3. Select the Privacy tab and click Manage Website Data... 4. Click "Remove All." This will clear any cookies Safari has stored. 5. Select the Advanced tab and check the Show Develop menu in menu bar box. 6. From the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Develop to open the develop menu and select "Empty Caches. This will clear your cache.

Overview asbury.techready.io allows you to test the speed of your network connection; it will also check for many other things that could impact your computer. Not ALL of the items matter to everyone. The website was set up for testing all student, faculty, and staff computers.  Feel free to use it any time you feel like your bandwidth is becoming a problem. If you know you should be getting 20Mb download speed and you are only getting 1Mb download in the test, then you will want to make sure that someone else in the house isn’t using up all of the bandwidth (ex. streaming movies). And, if nobody else is using up the bandwidth, then you will need to contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP)to report the problem.  If you run the test and have any concerns or questions, you can send the results to IT Services to review it for you. How to Run a Tech Ready Test 1. Open a browser and make sure you are connect to the internet and ready to run the test - it should only take 1-2 minutes to complete.  2. Type, copy, or click this link https://asbury.techready.io   3. Click "Begin Test"   4. The progress bar will change when the test is complete. How to Read the Test Results and When to Contact I.T. Services 1. The first data you will see is an overview of your download, upload, and ping rates. In addition, there will be an overall "pass"/"fail" bar. You do not need to get a 100% to pass or have a perfectly useable system!   2. Next, you will see your device system information. You will "fail" the test if your browser is not up to date, if Java is not installed, etc. Do not be concerned if you do not have Java installed, or a PDF viewer installed (if you don't need one). Things you do want to pass: having a reputable browser installed (Chrome, Firefox, Safari), and that browser being up to date.    3. The second box contains security information. Again, this will fail if your browser is not up to date, keeping your browser up to date is a necessary component to your computer's security. However, there are other items like Flash that are being phased out of use world-wide. If Flash is not up to date or is not installed, you can ignore that "fail."  a. If you have any questions about updating your Asbury University computer's OS (operating system), please contact I.T. Services by clicking the "Test ID" button at the bottom of the test page.    4. If you have any questions about your test results, please click to "Test ID" button at the bottom of the page to email I.T. Services. This will allow us to take a look at your results and address any concerns with you.   

Overview   This document will walk you through the key points of a password manager and why and how you should use one.   What You Need to Know About Password Managers    What is a Password Manager? The vast majority of us either use weak passwords or reuse passwords on multiple accounts. This makes us more susceptible to crimes such as identity theft. A password manager will generate, retrieve, and keep track of super-long, crazy-random passwords across countless accounts for you, while also protecting all your vital online info—not only passwords but PINs, credit-card numbers and their three-digit CVV codes, answers to security questions, and more—with encryption so strong that it might take a hacker between decades and forever to crack. https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-security/everything-you-need-to-know-about-password-managers/ Why is a Password Manager Secure? Going it alone can mean reusing the same password again and again — a risky approach, at best. If a hacker gains access to just one of your accounts, your entire digital life could be compromised. With a password manager, you won’t need to rely on simple, weak passwords that are easy for you to remember (and can be easy for hackers to guess). Password managers offer a password-generator feature that can create strong passwords to help keep your accounts more secure. And many password managers feature two-factor authentication as an added layer of security. Many password managers also use encryption to protect your passwords and other information stored in your account. And many limit access to your data by encrypting and decrypting it on your device and not on their servers, so your master password is available only to you — your password manager can’t access it. https://www.creditkarma.com/id-theft/i/are-password-managers-safe/ How to Download and Install a Password Manager First you will need to pick a password. There are several good, free, password managers out there. At I.T. Services we use LastPass and love it! Remember, all these password managers also have smart phone applications so you can stay secure on all of your devices.  https://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/the-best-password-manager-1325845 Most password managers set up as a browser extension. With a manager like LastPass, you create an account and your master password first then download the browser extension and you're on your way! You will need a second email and a cell phone to set up as backup.  https://lastpass.com/create-account.php How to Put a Password into a Password Manager  Once you have a password manager set up, you can go log into any one of your accounts (Netflix, Amazon, Bank, etc.) and it will prompt you to save your password into your password manager. If you want to add a password on your own, open your password manager and click "add" (may display as a plus icon) and add your username and password for the new site.  Video on how to use LastPass: Contact us: Call 859-858-5177 or campus extension 2177 Click to visit us online at http://www.asbury.edu/its   Or Visit us in the Kinlaw Library, room 131

Overview Newer iPhones, or newly updated iPhones may by default change the photo or video format to the newer “High Efficiency” codecs [HEIC].  These codecs are only able to be used by Mac computers whose operating systems are at 10.13 (High Sierra) or newer.  On campus - Since all of the operating systems in both the computer labs and edit suites are using version 10.12 (Sierra), all of the Miller editing computers will not read or open the files created with the “High Efficiency” codecs. Solution Change the following setting on your iPhone camera:   1. Go to Settings,  scroll down to Camera 2. Select Formats, select “Most Compatible”.    Selecting Most Compatible will always give you the .jpeg format for your photos and the H.264 .mp4 format for your video.   If you leave the “High Efficiency” format selected, your photo format will be .HEIF and your video format will be the HEVC H.265 .mp4 codec which will not be readable by any computers running macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or older. 

Applies to: Students, Faculty, Staff Revised: 2022-11-18 Status: Approved Answers the questions:  How do I use Grammarly? What is Grammarly? How do I create a Grammarlyaccount? Overview Grammarly is one of Asbury's vendors providing students with Grammarly Premium for free. Grammarly is a sophisticated set of grammar checking tools that can help to improve your writing by improving grammar, word choice, and basic spelling or punctuation mistakes. If you have Microsoft Word, then you already know some of what a good spell check can do, but Grammarly is a lot more sophisticated because unlike MS Word, it also scans for readability, contextual issues, and other issues. The basic features include: Contextual Spell Check Context Optimized Synonyms Grammar Check for over 250 Types of Issues Plagiarism Checker Poor Grammar Explanations 24/7 Support Essentially, Grammarly offers the same features as a thesaurus, a quality grammar checking program, and a plagiarism checker.  Grammarly access is provided by Asbury, but we do not provide support for the service. We do, however, help guide people to creating their Grammarly for the first time. Creating a Grammarly Account Use these instructions to create a new Grammarly account: Visit https://www.grammarly.com/edu/  Click on Sign Up with Your School Create a new account using your Asbury email and a new password. Enjoy using Grammarly Premium! Logging in to Grammarly Every current Asbury student has access to Grammarly. They can find it in two ways: Log in to Discovery, click "Grammarly" in the navigation bar and then sign in. Or, go to https://www.grammarly.com/edu/ and sign in.