This is your one stop reference guide to university technology information for employees. This guide includes the basics you need to prepare you and your computer to work at VIU, connect your devices, and more.
Can't find what you're looking for? The IT Service Desk is here to help!
Support hours: Monday-Friday 8am - 4:30pm (Pacific)
Phone: 1.250.740.6300 (Local 6300)
Email: ithelp@viu.ca
Note: If you have an urgent request such as not being able to access your computer account, please give us a call at 1.250.740.6300
First week:
You will need a VIU Employee ID card in order to pick up equipment and for printing. Visit the link below to find out how to pick one up.
Where can I find out more?
As a new VIU employee, it is important that you understand how to use the university technology safely and appropriately. Please read the below Use of Information Technology policy before using campus technology including computers and campus wireless access.
Your supervisor, manager, or area administrator will provide you with:
- Your employee number (also known as a resource ID)
- Your username and email address
- Your default password
You will need to change your password using the password reset tool before you can log in.
Where can I find help with this?
All employees at VIU who have a computer account also receive a VIU email account. This email account can be accessed on-campus by using Microsoft Outlook or off campus by using VIU Webmail.
Where can I find help with this?
Instructors may be expected to use many different types of technology for teaching. It is important to familiarize yourself with the classroom technology and test to make sure it is all working as expected. Where possible, it is always better to test things ahead of classes or meetings to make sure the technology is working as expected. This includes projectors, video conferencing equipment, computers, etc.
If anything is not working as expected, please contact the IT Service Desk for assistance.
Where can I find out more?
Day to day:
Anyone's computer can get a virus before you use your personal computer on campus. Take some initial steps to protect your computer, your data, and your identity. Visit our Computer Security page for more information on keeping your computer up to date, installing antivirus software, protecting your password, and backing up your files:
Where can I find out more?
Many professional development training opportunities exist, including:
- LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) is now available to all VIU employees.
LinkedIn Learning is an online educational platform that helps you discover and develop business, technology-related, and creative skills through expert-led course videos.
CUPE members can take advantage of Training & Development Funding.
Microsoft has an excellent series of free Digital Literacy courses available.
- Computer Training Courses are available through VIU Professional Development and Training
Covers both an introduction to computers and to Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Office 365 apps are available to download free of charge for your personal device.
Where can I find out more?
The VIU-Secure wireless network is available nearly anywhere on campus, and you can log in using your VIU username and password.
Where can I find help with this?
The U drive, OneDrive, and shared network drives are the safest places to store work files.
Where you should save your files:
OneDrive
OneDrive allows you to access, share, and collaborate on your files from anywhere. Employees get 5 TB of space in their VIU OneDrive.
U Drive
All VIU employee have 10 GB of free private storage that's accessible from anywhere. To access your U drive on a VIU computer: Click on the folder icon in the Windows taskbar. In the left margin, select "Computer" or "This PC". The U drive should be listed here.
Shared Network Drives
Share drives are spaces set up on the server whose intent is to provide an easy method for sharing files. In this way files can be shared by a department, by a small group of users, between an instructor and their students, or between students.
When you map a drive, you associate a drive letter with a path. It enables you to instantly jump to this shared location without having to go through a series of time-consuming steps.
Where you shouldn't save your files:
Desktop and My Documents
Files saved to your computer's desktop or documents folder may not be accessible on other computers, and may not be backed up. Don't save important work files here. It is always best to save your documents to your OneDrive, U drive, or a share drive.
Generic mailboxes allow multiple people (a team, people on a project, or a whole department) to share a mailbox (for example, ithelp@viu.ca which is a generic mailbox for the IT team). You may have access to some of these as part of your role at VIU.
Where can I find help with this?
Printing at VIU is easy:
- Print your document. Choose "findme" from the list of printers.
- Tap your employee ID card your nearest Ricoh printer's card reader. You may have to enter your VIU username and password the first time you print.
- Choose the print job on the printer to release.
Where can I find help with this?
Where can I find out more?
For employees working off campus, there are some resources available:
VIU Email
You can access your VIU email from anywhere.
Generic Mailboxes
You can access your generic mailboxes from home using Outlook or Webmail.
VIU VPN
VPN allows you to establish a secure connection to the VIU network to access your U drive and share drives.
Network Shares
You can map to share drives you have access to.
U Drive
You can access your U drive from home.
Remote Desktop
Remote Desktop allows you access your VIU desktop from home.
Microsoft Office 365 Apps
You can download Microsoft Office 365 Apps on your home computer for free.
OneDrive
OneDrive allows you to access, share, and collaborate on your files from anywhere. Employees get 5 TB of space in their VIU OneDrive.
VIUOnline Rooms (Zoom)
Some meetings at VIU are hosted remotely on Zoom. Zoom is provided and supported by our friends at the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning. Find out more about Zoom and how to create an account by following the link below.
Microsoft Teams
Teams is a cloud collaboration workspace that brings together instant messaging, threaded conversations, file sharing, voice and video conversations, and more.
For more information, visit the Working Off Campus section on the Get an Answer and Find a Service pages.
The VIU IT Service Desk is your front-line resource for help and technical support with VIU technology. We can also provide advice and guidance for using your technology with VIU systems. We are available by phone or email Monday to Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm Pacific.
- Email ithelp@viu.ca
- Phone 1-250-740-6300 (Local 6300)
For the latest information on working remotely, returning to work, and getting technology help during the pandemic, please check out the IT Support Overview for Working Remotely and Returning to Campus. This page is updated regularly as our situation continues to evolve.
The IT Service Desk Client Portal provides access to the Service Management system used by the IT Department to track and respond to requests for assistance from the VIU community.
All requests for VIU IT service or assistance result in the creation of a "ticket" with a unique ticket number. The ticket is used to track all work performed on the request and to ensure proper resolution. During semesters, IT can receive over 100 requests a day from emails, phone calls, or visits from students, faculty, and staff.
Using the IT Service Desk Client Portal allows clients to:
- Create tickets and later add additional information to open tickets
- Check on the status of your active tickets and review previously closed tickets
You can find the IT Service Desk Client Portal on the right-hand side of all Technology @ VIU webpages,
Where can I find out more?
There are many services used at VIU that are managed and supported by various departments, such as Human Resources, Print Services, CIEL, etc. Here are links to help pages for some of these services: