FAQ

EDUCAUSE, in cooperation with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officer and the National Association of College Admission Counseling, has developed The Student Guide to Evaluating Information Technology on Campus to help students and parents evaluate college and university technology environments. UCF's responses to the Guide's questions will give you a better understanding of the university's technology resources and services.

Academic Experience

Administrative Experience

Social Experience

Requirements, Services, and Costs

Academic Experience

What percentage of campus courses use electronic information to enhance the course (for example, syllabi, reading lists, discussion groups, demonstrations)?

Between 50% and 75% of all courses at UCF make use of electronic information resources.

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Are technology resources available, used effectively to enhance the learning experience and designed to prepare graduates in your major for successful technology use in their careers?

UCF has made significant commitments to provide technology resources that enhance the student experience. All students are provided with e-mail accounts, space to create a Web page and access to all campus network resources. More than half of all UCF classrooms are equipped with advanced multimedia presentation facilities. More than 1,700 courses are delivered partially or totally over the Web. Every college has implemented a technology requirement appropriate to the college's field of study and provides courses to help students acquire the necessary skills for success.

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What library resources are available online (catalog databases, special collections)?

Thousands of resources are available online to the University of Central Florida community, including: the Library catalog, the catalogs of the State University System of Florida, indexes and abstracts, directories, encyclopedias, handbooks, full text journals, images, statistics, legal and government resources, standards, proceedings, financial data and tax information, patents, maps, newspapers and historical documents. These are provided through a wide variety of sources, including OCLC's FirstSearch, CSA, Science Direct, Project MUSE, EBSCOhost, Dialog@CARL, the Florida Heritage project and the Bryant Collection, to name only a few. Check http://library.ucf.edu/Databases for a more complete listing.

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What electronic reference materials are licensed and how accessible are they from outside the library (for example, in the residence halls or off campus)?

The previous answer lists types and examples of UCF's licensed electronic resources. Most of the resources are licensed for unrestricted access by any computer within the ucf.edu domain. Nearly all of these resources are also accessible remotely through our library proxy server. A few of our online resources also allow access with a University ID. See http://library.ucf.edu/ask for additional information on remote access to UCF online Library's resources.

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How does the campus help students develop computer skills?

All of UCF's five colleges have implemented a technology requirement appropriate to the college's fields of study and provide courses to help students acquire the necessary skills for success.

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Does the campus have a specific computer/IT competency requirement for all undergraduates?

Beginning with the Fall 2002 academic term, the University of Central Florida will expect that all students will have ready access to a personal computer appropriate to his or her field of study. This access requirement can be met by purchasing or leasing a computer, sharing a computer with family or roommates, or using a UCF student PC Lab.

Students wishing to acquire a personal computer are strongly advised to consider a notebook computer with wireless networking card. Recommended configurations and prices can be found on the university's Web site at http://www.cstore.ucf.edu/Info.php?name=PC_Standards

The UCF personal computer access requirement recognizes that all UCF students should expect to be required to use a personal computer in their coursework, to access library information, register for classes and correspond with their instructors or fellow students.

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Are course reserves and other materials available online/via the Web site?

UCF has an online course reserve system and offers more than 1,700 Web-based courses.

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What percentage of faculty has a networked computer available to them?

All UCF faculty have a networked personal computer.

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What percentage of faculty use e-mail regularly?

All faculty are provided with an e-mail account, and all use them.

Administrative Experience

What information about admission and financial aid is available online and can necessary forms be submitted electronically?

Complete information about UCF programs and admissions procedures are available online. Both undergraduate and graduate application forms are available on the Web.

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Is the college catalog, including important campus policies, available on the Web?

Both undergraduate and graduate catalogs are available online at http://www.ucf.edu/catalog/.

Policies relevant to undergraduate and graduate students can be found at the following web sites:

Undergraduate students: http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~skallner/student/policies.htm

Graduate students: http://www.graduate.ucf.edu/.

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Can a student access his/her personal student information/data online?

A wide range of student information is available online through the MyUCF Portal, a secure Web interface to administrative systems: https://my.ucf.edu.

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Can a student find out his/her grades online or by phone at the end of a semester?

Student grades are available online through the MyUCF Portal: https://my.ucf.edu.

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Is registration, including dropping and adding courses, processed electronically (either online or via phone)?

Course registration, including add/drop is available through the MyUCF Portal: https://my.ucf.edu.

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Can students pay bills, receive loans, make campus bookstore purchases, using online procedures?

Electronic payment of tuition, fees and miscellaneous expenses is available through the MyUCF Portal: https://my.ucf.edu. Students can purchase parking permits online: http://www.parking.ucf.edu/. They can also buy textbooks online at the following site: http://www.bookstore.ucf.edu/. The UCF Financial Aid home page includes online application forms: http://finaid.ucf.edu/.

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What campus and community services are covered by "smart cards" or "debit cards?"

All UCF students are issued a "smart card" student ID card. These can be used as a debit card to make purchases at many locations on campus. See: http://www.ucfcard.ucf.edu/.

Social Experience

What percentage of students on the UCF campus have full-time use of personal computers?

Currently, 92% of all undergraduate students, and 94% of all graduate students report they have full time use of a personal computer.

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What is the ratio of public access computers to undergraduate enrollment?

The ratio of UCF-provided public access personal computers to undergraduate students is 1 to 27. Including department-supported student PC labs, the overall ratio is 1:14.

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What percentage of students use e-mail and other software applications on a regular basis?

All UCF students are provided with a free e-mail account. Approximately 1/4 of all students use these accounts. Because most students use independent ISP e-mail accounts, it is not possible to determine the total percentage of students using e-mail.

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Does the campus allow personal student Web pages?

UCF provides every student with 10MB of server disk space and software tools to create a personal home page.

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Is contact information for students, faculty and staff readily accessible electronically?

Contact information for all UCF faculty, staff and students is available through the university's Web site: http://www.ucf.edu/search/. Students can block release of personal information if they choose.

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Is there a campus code of behavior for use of computing resources?

University guidelines relating to the use of information technology and resources can be found at the following Web site: http://www.itr.ucf.edu/policies/Useof%20IT.htm. The Golden Rule (student conduct guide) includes a section on the use of computing resources: http://www.goldenrule.sdes.ucf.edu.

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What social activities and services are available over the Web?

A full range of campus activities and services are available at UCF. Information is available online from: http://www.ucf.edu/current/index.html

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Are there Web sites for student organizations and clubs and are these linked to the campus home page?

All student clubs and organizations can create Web sites and also publish information to the university's main Web site. For a complete list of campus organizations, see: http://www.osa.ucf.edu/clubsorgs/cluborgshome.html

Requirements, Services, and Costs

What, if any, technology fee is charged by the campus and what does it cover?

UCF has no technology fee.

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Are students required to purchase their own computers?

Students are not required to purchase a computer. However, UCF will expect that all students will have ready access to a personal computer and software appropriate to his or her field of study. This access requirement can be met by purchasing or leasing a computer, sharing a computer with family or roommates, or using a UCF student PC lab.

Students wishing to acquire a personal computer are strongly advised to consider a notebook computer with wireless networking card. Recommended configurations and prices can be found on the university's Web site at: http://www.cstore.ucf.edu/standards.htm.

The UCF personal computer access requirement recognizes that all UCF students should expect to be required to use a personal computer in their coursework, to access library information, register for classes and correspond with their instructors or fellow students.

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How does the campus assess extra fees for network access financially available to all students?

There are no student fees for access to campus technology.

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Does the campus assess extra fees for network connections in the dorms or for off-campus access?

There are no student fees for access to campus technology. All UCF residence halls have Ethernet connections. Refer to Campus Housing Internet (CHIP) at: http://www.cstore.ucf.edu. There is a nominal one-time fee to connect a student's residence hall computer to the campus network.

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If I bring my own computer equipment to school, what kind of support can I expect from the campus?

The PC Service Center provides online, telephone and walk-in support for students: http://www.cstore.ucf.edu/Services.php?name=PC_Service_Center. Support is available for the use of university-provided or personally-owned PCs.

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What hardware and software standards, if any, does the campus require, recommend and/or support?

Campus recommendations for computer purchases and a list of recommended and supported software can be found at: http://www.cstore.ucf.edu/standards.htm

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What kinds of services--help desk, training, troubleshooting--are provided by the campus and what are the hours of operation?

The CyberKnights Center provides online, telephone and walk-in support for students. Support is available for the use of university-provided or personally-owned PCs and is available at least 18 hours per day: http://cyberknights.ucf.edu/main.html

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Does the campus have a plan for keeping the hardware current, and if so, what is the replacement cycle?

Student lab PCs are upgraded on a three-year replacement cycle. For information on current UCF student computing lab facilities, see: http://www.acs.ucf.edu/computerlabs.html

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How does the campus support printing for students and is there a charge for this?

All public student PC labs have high-speed laser printers. A per page PC lab printing cost of $.05 per page is in effect.