Phone, Email and Web Services
Campus Technology Services (CTS)
Location: Basement of the Social Sciences Building, Room 0025
CTS supports a variety of services for faculty and students. The best way to keep abreast of what is available is to visit CTS online. The CTS helpdesk is responsible for classroom technology services and public labs, and for maintaining computer hardware and networks access across the Purchase campus. CTS also offers technical support for computer-related problems to faculty, staff, and students.
CTS Helpdesk:
(914) 251-6465
helpdesk@purchase.edu
If you need help, you can submit a request using the Work Order System.
Helpdesk Hours:
- First two weeks of the semester: Mon.–Thurs., 8 a.m.–9:45 p.m. and Fri., 8 a.m.–5:45 p.m.
- Remainder of the semester: Mon.–Thurs., 8 a.m.–7:45 p.m. and Fri., 8 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
- When classes are not in session: Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–4:45 p.m.
The campus area code is 914 and first three digits of on-campus numbers are 251. To make an on-campus call, dial the last four digits of the telephone number. To call off-campus, dial “9” first.
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Business and Personal Calls:
Calls necessary to accomplish faculty instructional or other professional university responsibilities are business calls. Any other local or long-distance call is a personal call. Faculty members must review their quarterly departmental phone bills and reimburse New York State for the cost of personal calls. (Those who live on campus receive monthly bills.) Telephone reimbursement report forms are available online, along with the complete telephone policy. -
Directories:
The most current directory of faculty, staff, and departments (campus telephone numbers, fax numbers, email and web addresses) is the online searchable version. It is maintained on a decentralized basis by each school, conservatory, and department. To update your individual entry, use the login/update link at the bottom of the campus directory.
Purchase College email accounts are automatically created for new faculty and staff after their information is entered into the Banner system. Normally, that happens when the Personnel Action Form (PAF)—the document authorizing their appointment at Purchase College—has been completed and signed by the president. (For volunteers, Research Foundation, Purchase College Association, and other non–New York State employees, a supervisor in the sponsoring office must create a Personnel Data Sheet or P-Dash form for the individual. The P-Dash form appears on the HRETS main menu.)
To activate your email account:
- Go to https://apps.purchase.edu/passwordreset/default.aspx.
- Click on “Activate your account for the first time” and follow the instructions.
- If you have trouble, you can call the CTS helpdesk at (914) 251-6465.
Your Purchase College email account is:
- used for official communications to and from the college and students
- provides access to the college’s online systems (e.g., self-service tools in myHeliotrope; the college’s web content management system; the SUNY time and attendance system and HRETS; SharePoint sites, the Brightspace learning management system, and the Mahara ePortfolio system)
You can use your Purchase email account from any computer with an internet connection and a standard web browser by going to “Email” under “Quick Links” on the faculty/staff portal. You can also access your account via the “Email” link in the footer of each page on the college website. From your campus desktop, you will be provided with Microsoft Outlook, a full-featured mail/calendar/task application that is part of the Microsoft Office suite. After you have activated your account, you will be notified by CTS via email when it is time to change your password (required every 90 days for security purposes).
All Purchase email distribution lists can be used from any email account, on or off campus, using the format List.Name@purchase.edu. CTS automatically creates an email distribution list for each class each semester, with the faculty member as the list manager. Three semesters of lists are available: past, present, and future. The format for these lists is:
YYYY-TERM-Subject-Code-CRN@purchase.edu (for example, 2017-40-WRI1110-40117@purchase.edu would be the list for the Fall 2017 College Writing class.
- Each faculty advisor also has a distribution list containing all of his or her advisees in the format advisor.FirstName.LastName@purchase.edu.
- If you are the owner of a list (i.e., you are a department chair), there is also a list containing all of your majors (for example, hum.faculty.literature@purchase.edu).
The faculty/staff portal includes links to the myHeliotrope Banner information system and numerous self-service applications—where you can do everything from changing your email password to viewing your class lists and submitting your grades. Your user name and password for myHeliotrope and other password-protected information are the same as your Purchase College email address and password; the domain is tnt_lan and your user ID is generally firstname.lastname (e.g., John.Doe).
During its regular business hours, the CTS helpdesk can assist with any computing issues you may have. Please use the CTS Work Order System to request support services for your office desktop computer. The college provides access to Microsoft Office products for your desktop computer, along with antivirus software, concurrent-use licenses for such commonly used software as Adobe Creative Suite and SPSS, and home directory space on the server.
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Smart Classrooms
The college currently has approximately 80 smart classrooms, most of which are equipped with a computer, projector, DVD/VHS, sound system, and wireless Ethernet. Many other classrooms have a large-screen TV and DVD/VCR. CTS also schedules and manages academic computing labs and computer equipment, and will supply audiovisual equipment and services to classes, conferences, and special events upon request. For events with external (non–Purchase College) audiences, there may be a fee for equipment and services. A list of technology-enhanced smart classrooms is available in the CTS Knowledge Base on its SharePoint site. -
Wireless Internet Access
Wireless Ethernet service is available throughout the academic buildings and in many other locations as well (Campus Centers North and South, the Student Services Building, and the Performing Arts Center). -
Mobile Teaching Units
In recognition of the vital role that computing technology plays in the classroom and studio, CTS can provide mobile teaching units (MTUs) consisting of a laptop, laptop speakers, projector, an Ethernet cable, and wireless capabilities on carts that can be wheeled into most locations on campus for electronic presentations. If the classroom has a network outlet, the station can be used to access any campus computing resource and any resource available through the internet. Alternatively, materials could be loaded directly onto the computer.
To make arrangements for an MTU, please use the CTS Work Order System. CTS technicians will deliver equipment only to the faculty member, not to an empty room. The delivering technician will set up the equipment ready for your use. Please do not leave the equipment unattended, and remember to notify CTS if the room is changed, the class is canceled, or the pick-up time is changed. Faculty members are responsible for the equipment delivered to their class. -
Media Equipment Pool
CTS also provides an extensive pool of computing and media equipment to support student and faculty academic activities. This pool contains a variety of video and still cameras, audio gear, tablets, and computer displays. An inventory list is available on the CTS site. Please use the CTS Work Order System to schedule equipment loans. -
Videoconferencing and Webcasting
Information on these services is available in the CTS Knowledge Base on the SharePoint site under technology-enhanced smart classrooms.
The Instructional Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC) advises the directors of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center (TLTC), the Library, and Campus Technology Services (CTS) on all matters relating to the integration of technology throughout the curriculum. ITAC’s mission is to support the adoption of innovative, effective, and student-centered instructional approaches as pedagogy evolves in the digital age.
The scope of these advisory efforts includes:
- assessment of the impact of digital tools and services on student learning outcomes
- assistance in planning and promoting faculty development programs on the use of instructional tools and new pedagogical approaches
- advice on evaluation and adoption of new web services, hardware, and software throughout the curriculum to support teaching and learning
- support for campus communication about new and existing instructional technology tools and services
- advice on the development of physical and virtual learning spaces to support learning across the curriculum
The ITAC membership and committee documents can be accessed on the ITAC SharePoint site. A list of all computer labs managed and operated by CTS is available in the CTS Knowledge Base on the SharePoint site.
The 2017 major redesign of the Purchase website, together with the new content management system, provides a robust and easy-to-use solution for faculty members to maintain a Purchase-affiliated web presence.
A basic faculty profile is created by the Provost’s office when they are notified by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs about the faculty member’s hiring. It will contain basic information provided by the faculty member’s “home” school or conservatory (or by the Library for librarians, Physical Education for PED lecturers). This basic information is centrally maintained:
- name, official faculty title, and status (full-time, part-time, or emeritus/a)
- Purchase email user name (firstname.lastname)
- earned degrees and the conferring institutions
- “home” school or conservatory (or the Library or Physical Education)
- primary department, and any other department to which the faculty member will be contributing
- external professional website (when applicable)
- for instrumental performance and jazz studies faculty in the Conservatory of Music: primary instrument
The department chair designation for each program, dates of official leaves, and Chancellor‘s Awards for Excellence are also added when applicable and are centrally maintained.
These data, some of which flow automatically into the website’s faculty lists and College Catalog, are not editable by the faculty member. If a correction or update is needed, please email Jeanmarie Garofolo in the Academic Affairs office.
After you have activated your Purchase email account, you can add (and change) your photograph, contact information, office hours, biographical narrative, courses taught, publications, exhibitions, recordings, awards, etc., on your faculty profile. User instructions are available on the CMS help site. Faculty members are asked to review the campus Editorial Style Guide (in particular, People and Titles in the Academic Terms and Usage section) before preparing narrative text for their faculty profile.
Other Options
Faculty members who want to use commercial or open-source web publishing applications or develop database-driven web applications can arrange to have a web directory set up on the server. For details, please contact the CTS helpdesk at (914) 251-6465.
Every faculty member and student can set up his or her own web and database spaces. Students can obtain a home directory via a self-service application; faculty members automatically have a home directory for files.
There is a self-service application you can use to obtain a home directory for yourself on the file server, and you can access your home directory from anywhere using the college’s Virtual Private Network (VPN). Contact CTS to get started.
There is also an FTP service for transferring materials from off site. At this time, there is no upper limit on the amount of material you can store in your home directory. This service is available to all Purchase faculty and students. Using this same self-service application, you can obtain web publishing space and MySql database space if you wish.
Documentation and how-to steps for file, web, and database space are available in the CTS Knowledge Base.