Bring Your Own Device
Information Technology

Technology recommendations

We recommend all students have a laptop or access to a laptop and when off campus access to the internet. 

Minimum system recommendations

• Windows 10
  • Intel I5 or equivalent
  • 8GB RAM
  • 100 GB disk space available

• Mac
  • Intel Quad Core CPU or faster processor
  • 8GB or greater of RAM

Web-conferencing & Media Recording

• Per course Requirements
• USB or Built-in Webcam
• Headphones with microphone

Web Browsers

• Canvas Browser Support

Internet Connectivity

• At least 1.5 mbps connectivity speed (10 mbps recommended for video services)

Mobile Apps (optional)

• Canvas Mobile App for iOS
• Canvas Mobile App for Android

Not recommended:

• Chromebooks are not recommended
• Tablets are not recommended

WIFI - Free wireless Internet access is available throughout campus, including the residence halls, public spaces, classrooms.

Printing & Copying - Students have a $4.00 per/semester printing and copier allowance and unused amounts roll over to the next semester. Printers are located in all residence halls and computer labs.   If you use your printer allowance up you may use Skycash. 

• Learn about lab and resident hall printing and copying
• Print from anywhere and release your printout at a campus printer.  (Webprint)
• Don’t bring a printer to the Residence Halls. Less expensive to use the printer program, no printer, paper or ink costs.  Pay only for what you use.
• Personal wireless printers in the residence halls are discouraged, they cause interference with the wireless network.

Computer labs - Fewer campus lab computers will be available due to social distancing requirements, but virtual computers will be available if you need to access certain software via your own laptop Lab computers will still have all the software you need for any of your classes.  Campus labs are on high speed internet.

Virtual Computer labs - 200 computers are available for remote access through the FLC VPN.  All lab software is available so you don’t have to license or load it onto your personal computer. Visit our home page to see how to set up the virtual lab on your computer.

We offer three wireless networks on campus. These are: 

• Guest
• Fort Lewis College
• Eduroam

Please use one of these official networks, if you see a network which is not one of these three networks, it is a rogue wireless network and we strongly recommend you do not connect to it because of security risks.

Fort Lewis College:

This network provides our highest performance and security. This is an encrypted network and it requires a Fort Lewis College user ID and password to connect. The network uses the 802.1x security protocol.

When you connect to the Fort Lewis College Wireless, your device will prompt you for a user ID and password.  Enter your FLC user ID and password. This is the same ID and password that you use on Webopus, theFort, and Webmail. Please note that your User ID is also your email name without the @fortlewis.edu. 

After connecting to Fort Lewis College you should open a web browser to see if you are connected to the internet and the Fort Lewis Network.

Guest:

This is a restricted network for casual and guest usage. If you have a Fort Lewis College user ID and password, you should use the Fort Lewis College wireless network, and not the Guest network.

The Guest wireless network does not provide encryption, and other users may be able to see what you are transmitting and receiving. The Guest wireless network utilizes network filters to prohibit or block:

1. Academic Fraud
2. Adware
3. Gambling
4. Hate/Discrimination
5. Nudity
6. Peer to Peer File Sharing
7. Parked Domains
8. Pornography
9. Proxy Anonymizer
10. Tasteless
11. Typo Squatting
12. Web Spam

Eduroam:

Eduroam (education roaming) is a secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. Eduroam allows any user from an Eduroam participating site to get network access at any institution connected to Eduroam, including Fort Lewis College. Visitors to Fort Lewis from other Eduroam facilities can use their provided log-on information to access Eduroam.  Fort Lewis members can log in here and at other Eduroam facilities  by using their fully qualified Fort Lewis user name ("Username"@fortlewis.edu) and your FLC password.  Eduroam is secure and encrypted.

Connecting Laptops to the Wireless Network

Windows

1. Open your wireless setup window and select the Fort Lewis College wireless connection.
   
    
2. You will be prompted for your Fort Lewis username and password. Some windows systems will see a warning about the connection.
   
    
3. Click the details button and verify that the server is *.fortlewis.edu.
   
   If the server is *.fortlewis.edu, then proceed and click connect.
    
4. Once connected, open your browser and you should be registered on the network. This process can take a couple of minutes.

Macintosh

1. Select the Fort Lewis College wireless connection.
   
    
2. You will be prompted for the Fort Lewis username and password. You will get a message to Verify Certificate.
   
3. Click the Show Certificate button.
   
    
4. If the server is a *.fortlewis.edu, then you can proceed to click Continue.
5. Open your browser and you should be registered on the network.  This process can take a couple of minutes.

Mobile Devices can vary greatly, but the steps should be similar to a computer.

1. Go to your devices wireless setup location. 
2. Select the wireless system to connect to, and you will be prompted to enter your Fort Lewis username and password.
3. Choose to "Connect".  You might see a message about a Certificate and you will have to accept the Certificate.
4. Once connected you should be able to access the internet. 
5. Test by opening a browser and see if there is a connection.

How do I connect my gaming device or TV to the network?

Gaming devices without a web browser require a manual registration before they may be used on the network.  Click here to register your device. You will need to know the MAC address of your device. The MAC address can usually be obtained from the settings area of your device, but each device is different.

Please contact the IT Help Desk at 970-247-7444 if you need assistance registering your device.

Connecting a printer

DO NOT connect a wireless printer to FLC's wireless network. Use a USB cable, and connect directly to your printer, even if your printer has wireless capabilities. Making a printer available over a wireless network opens it up for anyone to use or abuse and in addition, wireless printers can cause issues to other wireless network users who may be in the vicinity. Therefore, wireless printers are not allowed on the FLC network.

What devices are not allowed to connect to the FLC network?

Due to security concerns and network stability FLC doesn’t allow certain devices to connect to the network. The FLC network is significantly larger than your home network. To provide the best network experience, we can’t allow all devices to connect to the FLC network.  Your home network generally contains only a few devices and if something goes wrong only those devices are affected.  The FLC network consists of thousands of devices and users which all must work together on the network.  Some devices can actually interfere with other devices on the network and may cause security problems for other users of the network.

The following personal devices are not allowed to connect to the network:

• Wireless Printers
• Wireless Routers
• Wireless Access Points
• Servers

What about security?

As you connect your devices to the Fort Lewis College networks or any network you should always be concerned about security.  If the connection is not encrypted, other people may be able to see your information as you transmit and receive it.  You also need to be concerned with how your device is setup to share information.  You may have your device setup to allow others to see your files and pictures, which is okay at home,  but do you really want 3000 FLC users to be able to see your files?

You are encouraged to run antivirus software and to maintain your devices with the latest operating system updates.  Most current operating systems have anti-virus built in to them.  You can also obtain virus protection software on the internet free of charge.  If you are unsure if your device has antivirus software,  please bring it by the Help desk and we can assist you.

Please note that FORT LEWIS COLLEGE will never ask for your password in an e-mail, text message, over the phone or in person.  You may have to enter your password on some websites and on your device.  Malicious users will try to trick you into entering your user ID and password by diverting you to fraudulent FLC email or websites or by sending you an email saying something is wrong with your account and you need to log into the website link they provide.  Please, always  be cautious and suspicious especially if someone wants you to enter your credentials!  

If in doubt, call our Help Desk at 970-247-7444.