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Department of Psychological Sciences — Hardware and Software Support Policy

Updated May 3, October 10, 2024

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Introduction

The Department of Psychological Sciences Computer Committee decided on the following policy regarding Departmental hardware and software support. The policy was presented to, and approved by the Department Head and Division Heads on Feb. 7th, 2000.

The list of support is updated by the Computer Committee each semester. The following list of support was approved May 3, October 10, 2024.

If you would like to comment on this policy or make suggestions please contact the head of the committee, Etan Markus, or one of the members: Nairan Ramirez-Esparza, Matthew Butwill, Eddie Rivera, Matthew Davidson, James Magnuson, Gerry Altmann, Alev Ecevitoglu (student representative).

The Department of Psychological Sciences currently has three computer support staff (Psych. Staff). It should be noted that service priority is given to computer problems that affect large numbers of users (e.g., servers, teaching, network printers, shared machines), thus the actual time interval until support is given may vary with the nature of the problem.

New Purchases

1. Please check with PsychIT BEFORE purchasing any software or hardware not listed in this policy. Do not set up a new server without first consulting PsychIT.

2a. New Computers: Windows – In general, these will be current Dell business-class computers purchased through the CLAS IT standard computer recommendations . Our current recommendations:

Desktop: Dell OptiPlex Plus 7020 PLUS (Intel i7 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB solid state drive, and 5 year warranty).

Laptop: Dell Latitude 7440 7450- 14 in. display (Intel i7 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB solid state drive, and 5 year warranty).

These PC’s will meet the security standards set by the University and function well for standard business tasks for at least the 5-year warranty period. When a non-standard computer is required for research purposes, we can assist in identifying various options and in preparation of the required exemption request form.

Purchasing laptops with non-removable drives (e.g., Microsoft Surface, etc.) present serious data loss potential because drives cannot be removed for external data recovery. They cannot be upgraded, so please consider how much space is required for the life of the laptop. Do consider how your important data will be backed up (R: Drive, One Drive, Sharepoint, local hard drive and/or other cloud… Dropbox, etc.)

2b. New Computers: Mac – In general, these will be current Apple business-class computers purchased through the CLAS IT standard computer recommendations Our current recommendations:

Desktop: iMac 24 in. display (no changes) (Apple M3 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB solid state drive, and 4 year warranty).

Laptop: MacBook Pro - 14 in. Air - 13 in. display (Apple M3 Processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB solid state drive, and 4 year warranty).

Laptops with non-removable drives present serious data loss potential because drives cannot be removed for external data recovery. They also cannot be upgraded, so it is important to be honest about how much space is required for the life of the laptop. Do consider how your important data will be backed up (R: Drive, One Drive, Sharepoint, local hard drive and/or other cloud… Dropbox, etc.)

3. All office computers for Department faculty and staff will be encrypted and configured with the same software in current use for university contract PC/Mac PCs and Macs. Unless there is a valid exception, PCs and Macs will be have been added to the University Active Directory. This is transitioning to University Computer Management System (Intune and Jamf). Authentication in this case will be with NETID on new purchases will be with email and password.

Current Computers

4. Current computers: Any current computer must be at least compatible with Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise Version 22H2 (same) and up or Windows 11 Version 23H2 (PCs) or Apple macOS 12.7.4 14.x or better (1a-1b). Windows 10 and older PCs must be upgraded to Windows 11 by October 2025. The department will try to assist the migration to compliant machines as support for older machines is phased out.

5. Web sites used to collect information from individuals fall under the auspices of the Human Subjects guidelines (see IRB https://ovpr.uconn.edu/services/rics/irb/) and their use with the participant pool requires review by the Department of Psychological Sciences Ethics Committee (Steven Mellor). Additional information is available on the Participant Pool website

6. It is the responsibility of the user to post only legal material on the web (e.g., copyright laws, libel, etc.) and all websites must comply with current minimum standards for University websites.

7.   Servers (Microsoft, Mac, and any Linux/Unix computer) must be updated with the latest patches on at least a monthly schedule. This is a University requirement and critical for the security of department and university networks. Faculty who install and/or maintain Microsoft servers need to comply with many policies, not the least of which can be found at the following URL: Server Hardening Standards.

8. Only University computers and departmental printers are covered by the department. Supplies and parts for research computers and non-departmental printers are the responsibility of the faculty.

9. For color printing, please send the file to the Psychology General mailbox (psychology@uconn.edu) with the subject line “color print job”. This will create a work ticket for your print job. It will be printed and placed in your mailbox.

In general if you have a computer problem…

1. For issues with email or networking or storage (R drives, OneDrive) submit a work ticket with ITS by visiting the UConn Jira Ticketing System

Or Call the Computer Center Help Desk at 6-HELP (6-4357). They provide excellent support for e-mail, networking, graphics, and many software applications.

If they cannot assist you …

2. Email psychithelp@uconn.edu to submit a work ticket or submit a JIRA Ticket for computer HELP (JIRA link): http://s.uconn/psychit

Then login with NetID. At the JIRA landing page, click Psychological Sciences link at bottom of list…

Fill out a web-based Jira Work Ticket. This ticket form is only to be used to request help with IT associated problems within the Department of Psychological Sciences.

An email receipt will be given on completing the form that should be used in any correspondence concerning the request. You will get an acknowledgment via comments entered on the Jira Work Ticket.

If a Jira Work Ticket is not an option…

3. E-Mail psychit@uconn.edu.

You will get an acknowledgment via comments entered on the on-line Work Request and via email
when completed.

If this is an emergency…

4. Call Eddie at (860-377-8403), or if he is not available, call Matthew Butwill (6-5346 / 860-377-9018).
Email to Matthew Butwill or Matthew Davidson is also an option should neither be available via telephone, but please copy Eddie.

5. If you are unsatisfied with the response or response time, please contact Etan Markus

Resources

For help with the Psychological Sciences Department network (and other issues) please visit Psych IT Confluence Page

Hardware Support

Operating Systems

Word Processing

Data Analysis

Email

Remote Conferencing

Web Browsers

Antivirus

Other Software

Footnotes

[1] a.) Windows: Current machine must be minimally Windows 10 Enterprise / Windows 11 compatible, with at least an Intel i7 processor or AMD Ryzen 7 or better, with Trusted Platform Module [TPM – Windows] for encryption, a DirectX 11.0-12.0 capable Graphics Processor, at least 512 GB solid state hard drive (SSD) and a minimum 16 GB of RAM. Older PC’s not meeting/exceeding specifications above cannot adequately run current software. Newer PC’s may not be able to run prior versions of Windows if device hardware is incompatible, lacking current drivers, or otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEM”) support period.

[1] b.) Apple: Current machine must be Mac OS 12.7.4 or above; or Mac OS 12.7.4-14.x compatible, with at least 512 GB hard drive and a minimum of 16 GB or RAM.  Old Apple computers not meeting/exceeding specifications above may not adequately run current software. Newer Apple computers may not be able to run prior versions of Mac OS if device hardware is incompatible, they lack current drivers, or are otherwise outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEM”) support period.

Office computers will be configured by default to provide whole-disk encryption with automatic updates enabled. All laptops (Macs included) will be configured by default to provide whole-disk encryption with automatic updates enabled. Those running Windows and Mac OS 12.7.4 or higher version will be bound to the UConn Active Directory allowing authentication with NETID/password.

[2] Only Mac OS 12.7.4 or higher will be supported for Office 2021. Office 2021 is the preferred option for shared environments (e.g. labs). Office 365 is the preferred option for individual use.

[3] Email: See https://email.uconn.edu (to login, use EMAIL ADDRESS and NetID password). Configuration information is available at the Uconn Knowledge Base. Note: messages in an Outlook mailbox older than 2 years are automatically moved to a searchable and modifiable Online Archive. To learn more, see Knowledge Base Article on Outlook Archiving.

[4] The Psychological Sciences Department manages departmental use of a University-wide license for this web-based survey software. Those needing a department Qualtrics account should request one by emailing Matthew Butwill.