Welcome

Some of you are coming to Exeter College with a wealth of knowledge about computers, some of you may feel you know very little - either is fine. All of the information that you need will become available to you when you arrive. However, may I strongly encourage you to read over both sides of this sheet, so that you know what to expect and what you can do before you arrive to help things run smoothly.

Facilities in College

The college provides a number of computers in a variety of locations -including a main computer room- for students to use. Access to these computers is by a username and password which you will receive in your first week. Printing facilities are fast and high-quality monochrome laser printing, which is provided at-cost and very well used by the student population.

There is a Computing Department in college who run and monitor Exeter’s computer systems and in addition to the full time members of staff, there is a small team of Student Computing Assistants.

Facilities at the University

‘Oxford University Computing Services’ (OUCS) provide a great many services from their buildings at 13 Banbury Road. We’ll give you a quick overview of their offerings in your first week.
Their most frequently used service is ‘Nexus’, for university E-mail and you’ll receive a username and password for this, which is usually posted to your home address before you arrive, but sometimes given out at the same time as when you collect your University Card.

Please be aware you’ll have at least two different usernames and passwords.

Bringing your own Computer?

The vast majority of students will bring their own computers with them to College to use in their rooms. Small printers are also popular, but a significant proportion will rely solely on the college printers. Please ensure from the day you arrive that you take security into mind and don’t leave your room unlocked or computer unattended (e.g.: in the Library). The college is at the very centre of a busy city and crime is an uncommon but ever-present threat, with laptops being a favourite target.

Connecting to ‘The Internet’

The University of Oxford provides a computer network to which the college is connected, which is provided for “academic and reasonable personal use” (there are many other rules and regulations). It is important to note that this is a different arrangement from a domestic ‘broadband’ internet connection and there are certain rules which you will be asked to adhere too. These will be highlighted in your first week and should not affect most people’s recreational use of the internet.

We will need to register and inspect your computers before they can be connected to the network. Please see the reverse of this sheet for more information and for how you can help speed the process, which can take some considerable time.

Due to the size and age of the buildings, the college network – and therefore The Internet – is provided to the rooms by network sockets built into the wall. You will need a network lead for this (‘RJ45’ / ‘Cat5e’). Suitable leads are sold at cost price by the college (currently £3).

There is a wireless service in many communal areas which is known as “OWL”. Details of how to use this are on posters in each of the various locations. As soon as you can use the ‘University facilities’ (e.g.: e-mail) you can use OWL to connect your laptop to the internet. This may be extremely useful to you whilst waiting to be connected to the college network.

Introductory Week

During your introductory week in Oxford, I shall be giving a talk to all Fresher students, in which we will provide further information and instructions and allow you to ask any questions you may have.
Please look out for that talk on your timetable when you arrive.
I look forward to seeing you there.

Mr. Simon Mortimore, Computing Systems Manager