Information Technology at FCM

FCM offers an impressive computing and technology infrastructure and a friendly solution-focused informatics group to ensure that its academic functions are appropriately integrated with the technology of information management. Learn more about available IT services below.

Connected
  

FCM locations have high-speed network and Internet connectivity provided and supported by University Information Technology Services (UITS). FCM offices both on and off-campus are linked together and secured from the rest of the campus network and public Internet. FCM provides secure remote access to its network resources via virtual private network (VPN) connections.

Wireless network access (FCM-Wireless) is available at most FCM locations. In addition, UITS provides UAWiFi, the campus wireless network, covering much of the university including the Arizona Health Sciences Center and the College of Medicine campus in Phoenix.

E-mail
  

E-mail accounts with up to 250MB of disk space are provided and supported by UITS. These accounts can be used from a web-interface called WebMail, or through an e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook on a computer or smartphone. FCM enhances the university’s e-mail system by offering integration with its own Microsoft Exchange server for daily backup, increased storage capacity and advanced calendar sharing/scheduling options. 

Server resources  

FCM maintains its own data center and servers for the greatest flexibility and security. Server services include: group and personal file storage; application, web and database hosting; calendaring; software updating; and VPN. Server resources and data are restricted to authorized personnel using domain managed user accounts and security groups. Industry standard security best practices are applied to all servers, and FCM adheres to all applicable university, state and federal information security policies.

Collaboration and presentation tools  

FCM faculty and staff have free access to shared equipment, such as laptops, LCD projectors, electronic whiteboards, conference phones, and video conferencing systems. FCM maintains a subscription to Basecamp, a web-based project management and collaboration tool. In addition, the department subscribes to the Learning Technology Center’s Macromedia Breeze server and the UITS WebEx Meeting Center which provide Internet-based video/audio conferencing, remote presentations and shared meeting notes.

Software applications  

FCM has server-based installations of ATLAS.ti, EndNote and Reference Manager that are available free for department use. Other titles such as Sophos Antivirus or SPSS are available for free or greatly reduced cost through the University of Arizona Software Licensing website. Many Microsoft software titles are now free for use on university-owned computers due to the Microsoft Campus Agreement. Faculty and staff may purchase personal use licenses for Microsoft Office (Windows and Mac versions) for home use for $10. See the Microsoft Home Use Program page on the UA Bookstore website for more info.