STUDENT TECHNOLOGY RECOMMENDATIONS

Student Computer Services Introduction

Hopefully the information below helps answer some of those questions and will make your transition to Messiah’s Computing Environment as smooth as possible. If you have any computer questions, please feel free to call Chad Keene or Berte Thompson at (717)796-5039 between 7:15 and 4:30, M-F. Or by email at ckeene@messiah.edu or bthompso@messiah.edu. They are available to answer any computer questions you might have and can help with passwords and MCSquare problems.

CELL PHONES

Cell Phone Carriers on Campus:

As the importance of cell service to students continues to increase rapidly, we feel it is necessary for Messiah to inform students about what seem to be the most reliable cell service to use on campus. While signal levels for even the best services have issues on certain floors of various buildings, there are several carriers that should be avoided if possible. We are seeing an increasing rate of complaints from those using carriers with poor cell service on campus (T-Mobile, Sprint, and others). Unfortunately, students are arriving on campus with these carriers having just purchased a 2 year contract and they must live with terrible cell service for the next two years. We are hoping that this communication on our part will help resolve some of these problems.

For our location, it is strongly recommended that students come to school with AT&T or Verizon Wireless phones.

The two reasons are:

1. AT&T has the best signal on campus overall. Verizon is edging AT&T at the moment.
2. We currently have a cell boosting project underway. Our efforts to boost signal levels only do so for AT&T and Verizon. This cell project is very expensive for just the two carriers. After careful consideration it was deemed not practical to add other services to the mix because of the cost.

COMPUTERS

Regardless of the type of computer you use during your time at Messiah, we want to offer guidelines that will help ensure the computer you start your college experience with is adequately equipped to carry your through your time here. Therefore, we provide the following basic recommendations:

Laptop vs. Desktop vs. Netbook:

Approximately 99% of the students have laptops on campus (although some may also have a desktop in addition to that laptop). We do not recommend the use of "netbooks" as a main PC. Many students that come with netbooks quickly realize that the netbooks just are not what they need as it just isn’t enough.

Basic Campus Computer Recommendations:

The following list represents configurations that provide the best performance with our learning management system and synchronous software. These are the configurations the College is ready and able to support. Although students may find that other configurations may work as well, those configurations may not be supported by Academic Technology Services.   

• i3 processor (i5 or i7 is better)

• 2 GB of memory/ram minimum (4 GB, or more, is better)
• Windows XP, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.5 or higher
• If you plan on putting a lot of pictures, movies and/or music on your PC, you may want a larger hard drive (such as 500GB) 
• Dual-Band Wireless-N.  
• Extended warranty (if financially feasible)

Basic Computer Recommendations for Students taking Online Classes:

• i3 processor (i5 or i7 is better)
• 2 GB of RAM (4 GB, or more, is better)
• At least 40 GB of free hard disk space
• High speed or Broadband Internet connection required
• Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Mac OS 10.4 (10.6 or higher recommended)
• Mozilla Firefox 8 or higher (recommended)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 or higher
• Microsoft Office 2007 or newer.

For the best online experience, a wired connection will typically outperform a wireless one.

Specific Model Recommendations:

Toshiba and LAM computers are available at LAM Systems (a local Christian computer supplier that has excellent equipment and service). Our sales representative is Dani Sauve, (717) 697-7500 x140

SOFTWARE

Antivirus Software: DO NOT purchase antivirus software. Messiah requires that students use AVG antivirus software. Download AVG now or Student Computer Services will install this for you if you bring your computer to our office (located in Fry Apartments A3).

Office Suite Software: Ex. Microsoft Office 2007 or newer, OpenOffice 3.1, or Google Docs

Additional Software: Some courses will require additional software and/or hardware as it pertains to the instruction of the course. These additional requirements will be clearly spelled out in the course syllabi.

Need to Buy Software?

Visit the online software store at: http://www.JourneyEd.com/SELECT.  Select Pennsylvania as the state and then select Messiah as the school from the directory. Add desired items to your cart and checkout. Academic verification is required and you can elect to be verified instantly online during the checkout process or fax/email your verification after you place your order. Verified orders ship directly to the customer. (If calling, be sure to tell operator that you attend a "Select Pricing" school to ensure your special pricing.)

F.A.Q.

Frequently Asked Questions of First Year Students:

Do I need to bring a computer to Messiah College?
Messiah College does not require students to bring their own computer. There are 13 labs on campus with over 250 computers available to students 24 hours a day. Art and Music majors are required to have Mac laptops. Specific types will be posted in the early spring.

What should I bring with me to connect to the network?
Wi-Fi is available in the residences and throughout most of campus if your computer has Wi-Fi built-in then you do not need to bring anything to connect to the network.

In each residence hall or campus apartment bedroom there is only one live jack. This means that if two or more students in the same room wish to connect to the internet with a wired connection, they will need to have a hub (RJ45 cable not USB). Hubs are available from Student Computer Services (Fry Apartments A3) A network cable is required for each PC (10-15ft is recommended) plus one to connect the hub to the live jack in the wall.

NOTICE: DO NOT bring a router (wireless or wired) as you will be prevented from connecting through one as routers tend to interfere with our network

Can I send my computer to Student Computer Services to get configured ahead of time?
Yes! We actually prefer it this way as it allows us to get as many done as possible before the "rush" at the beginning of the semester. We also send a "Do It Yourself File" at the beginning of August.

Computers may be shipped to following:
Messiah College
Chad Keene
One College Ave - Suite 3046
Mechanicsburg PA 17055

Computers will be configured and ready for pickup when the student arrives on campus.

Click here to see the General FAQ's page