As the proliferation of technology increases on campus, one of the issues students face involves their use of computers. The following information is provided as reference material to educate students about the use of computers in the residence halls.

WHETHER OR NOT TO PURCHASE A COMPUTER...
When considering whether or not to purchase a computer, consider the following:

• Not all students own personal computers. Students have access to 16 computer clusters on campus with over 500 computers available for use. Most clusters are open from 8:00 AM until 2:00 AM, while classes are in session.
  
• The Office of Information Technologies (OIT) recommends students bring personal computers to campus.
• Every residence hall room has an ethernet jack for residents to connect their computers into the University's network.
• Every hall has Resident Computer Consultants (RCC). RCC's are fellow students who live in the hall and assist with basic computer questions/issues.
• All students are provided Shared File Space on the University's server. Shared File Space allows students to save information to the server and access computer files from across campus (in clusters, classrooms, and residence halls).
• Please be aware that most desks are large enough to hold a CPU and monitor, but not much else. Most desks also do not have adequate space to accommodate large monitors. Laptops and moderately sized flat screens offer the best utilization of available space. For more information on desk sizes, visit our Desk Sizes page.
• Most residence halls were constructed before the wide-spread use of personal computers. Therefore, many rooms (especially in older residence halls) do not have adequate space for multiple media devices (e.g. computers, televisions, stereos, etc.).
  

IF YOU ARE GOING TO PURCHASE A COMPUTER...
Due to the amount of desk space available in residence hall rooms, the Office of Residence Life and Housing strongly encourages students to consider purchasing laptop computers, rather than desktop computers. Advantages of laptops include:

• Ability to use computer with or without a desk.
• Ability to take computer to class, group project meetings, review sessions, etc.
  
• Creates additional desk/under-desk space for other items.
  
• A variety of laptop (and desktop) computers can be purchased from the Notre Dame Computer Store (sales department through the Notre Dame Office of Information Technologies). For more information visit the Solutions Center web site or call 574-631-7477.

IF YOU ARE BRINGING A COMPUTER FROM HOME
If you will be bringing a computer from home, refer to the ResNet recommended systems page to see if your computer has the necessary system requirements to function on the network.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you have further questions about the use of computers in the residence halls and on campus in general, please refer to one of the following:

• OIT Installation Fair Information
  
• OIT Help Desk FAQ for New Students
  
• ResNet (computer information for students living in residence halls)
  
• ResNet FAQ
  
• Recommended Systems for ResNet Computers
  
• ResNet Computer Assistants
  
• ND Computer Store
  
  

Specific questions regarding residence hall check-in should be directed to the Rector. General questions about move-in, can be directed to orlh@nd.edu.