School Policy on Provision of Computing Services

1. MMECS* services are planned and provided through the School's computer support staff, funded by the School.

2. MMECS will normally provide one computer and a basic printer per academic staff member on first appointment, subsequent upgrades and operating costs must be obtained through research grants or similar funding.  In exceptional cases, where no research grant is available, a staff member may apply for a School funded upgrade, to be approved by the Director of Laboratories.

3. MMECS staff will plan and implement, as part of the School's equipment replacement plan, the systematic replacement of computers in the School's computer laboratories.  Each year a minimum of half of the computers in one of the public rooms (206/306) will be replaced.  This will include upgrading to a new operating system and any additional utilities recommended by MMECS.  Computers that are replaced will be used for postgraduate students and upgrading staff computers in special cases.

4. Postgraduate research students will be provided with one computer for each student, normally supplied from the batch of replaced computers from the computer laboratories.  If a higher quality computer is required for the student's research, the academic supervisor is responsible for arranging an appropriate computer through research or other funds.

5. Provision of computers to visitors or exchange students is the responsibility of the academic staff member who arranged the visit. Visitors should ideally bring their own portable computer.

6. MMECS staff will provide ongoing computer support services for all computers purchased by the School that are registered in the MMECS computer register.  Registration means that defaults will be set in the computer in a way to ensure that software status is maintained at the required level and settings.  Basic support in this category is Norton Antivirus, MS Windows Patches & MS Office.  Any additional software or the installation/partitioning for a second operating system can only be covered by MMECS by special arrangement.  Installation and management of specialised software purchased for individual projects is the responsibility of staff working on the project.

7. MMECS staff will not provide computer support for non-registered computers or for simple "home computing" type problems such as installing a new personal printer.

8. Provision of computer IP numbers will be restricted to one number per staff or student or official visitor.

9. Requests for computing help should be made in the first instance through the email help line (mechsupport@unsw.edu.au).  Emergencies can be communicated to the support staff:  David Herd or Sam Lor.  Personal contact should be avoided as this can disrupt an MMECS current task; please use email or telephone wherever possible.  All MMECS activities are logged on an electronic system for progress monitoring.

February 2008

*  MMECS = Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Computer Support (mechsupport@unsw.edu.au)