Employee Guide

Your employee computer account is created through an automated system and is based on the information that has been provided to the payroll department.  The basic form takes up to the first 8 characters of your surname followed by your first initial. In some cases additional initials or a numeric value may be required to differentiate between usernames. Your username is not case sensitive, so Joe Name's username can be entered as namej or NameJ.

• To change your employee computer account password, visit reset.viu.ca.

• For more information on VIU employee accounts and what you can access with them, visit: Account Types for Employees

• All employees at VIU who have a computer account receive an Exchange Email account. This email account can be accessed on-campus by using Microsoft Outlook or off campus by using VIU Webmail.

• For more information about your VIU email address and accessing email on or off campus, visit: How do I setup my email?

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: Computer Security for On and Off Campus

• Microsoft offers Office 365 and Office for MAC to employees for free.

• For more information visit: Microsoft Office 365 Free Subscription for Students and Employees.

Microsoft has an excellent series of Digital Literacy free courses available. You will thank yourself if you do: Microsoft Digital Literacy

CUPE Training & Development information:

Computer Training Courses.(VIU Professional Development and Training)

Note: Fully funded "Introduction to Computers", which is over $300, as an exception for any VIU CUPE staff who wishes to take this course. It is a course that covers both an introduction to computers and to Microsoft Office. If you know of staff who may need this course please let them know it is available. 

Tuition payment is available for any two Professional Development and Training courses for Casual, Term or Regular staff up to $300 per course to a maximum of $600 per fiscal year. 

Applications are available on the CUPE Training & Development website under the Funding tab.

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.

• Use of Information Technology (Policy 45.01) (PDF)

The wireless network is available nearly anywhere on campus, and you can log in using your employee computer account username and password.

• For information on wireless availability and for advanced instructions for connecting your device to the wireless, visit: How Do I Connect to Wireless (Wi-Fi)?

Network shares 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.

• For more information about connecting to a Shared Drive, visit How Do I Map to a Shared Network Drive?
  

There are a number of networked printers on campus that employees can connect to. In some cases you will not know the name of the printer you want to print to, or would like to know which printers are available in a certain location.

To add a network printer to your VIU Desktop computer, visit this link: How do I setup Employee Printing?

For employees working off campus, there are some resources available:

• VPN is a private communications network used to establish a secure connection. For more information, visit: How Do I Create a VPN Connection to the VIU Network?
• Remote Desktop allows you access your VIU desktop from home. Visit: How do I create Remote Desktop Connection from Home?
  

For more information, visit: the Working Off Campus section on the Find a Service and Get an Answer pages. 

The VIU IT Helpdesk 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 Monday to Friday 8 am PST to 4:30 pm (Pacific).  You can also visit us in person Monday to Friday 9 am to 3:30 pm.

• Email ithelp@viu.ca
• Phone 250.740.6300
• Visit the IT Helpdesk in building 305, on the 3rd floor (in the Library)

The IT Helpdesk 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 Helpdesk 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

Here is our instructional page on how to use the Helpdesk Client Portal.

You can find the IT Helpdesk Client Portal on the right-hand side of all Technology @ VIU webpages,