ITS Documentation

Understanding Your Standard Computing Services

S4260 • September 2012
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What Are the Standard Computing Services?

The standard computing services (formerly known as the Basic Computing Package) are a set of computing services provided to the U-M community on the Ann Arbor campus by U-M Information and Technology Services (ITS) at no charge. The following services are included.

  • Uniqname and UMICH password. To use many U-M computing services, you need to enter your uniqname (which identifies you) and your UMICH password (which authorizes and authenticates you). Your uniqname is also part of your email address.

  • Google Apps. Your Google Apps UMICH account gives you access to many Google Apps for Education. For most U-M Ann Arbor students, Google Mail and Calendar are included. Medical students and some others do not receive Google Mail and Calendar and instead use email and calendaring services provided by the U-M Health System.

  • Personal file storage.

  • Black-and-white laser printing in the Campus Computing Sites. Students may print 400 pages per term (Winter, Fall, Spring/Summer) as part of their standard computing services. Faculty and staff may print 50 pages per term. Visit the MPrint site to check your printing usage. You may purchase additional printing at $0.06 per side of page. Color printing is available at some Sites for an additional charge. See What If I Need Additional Computing Services from ITS.

  • Login Service. The Login Service provides access to Pine for email, programming languages, and other computing resources.

  • Statistics and Computation Service. The Statistics and Computation Service provides access to servers where you can run computationally intensive or long-running programs.

  • MCommunity Directory. You have a profile in this directory that you can update with information about yourself. You can use this directory of U-M students, faculty, staff, alumni, retirees, and sponsored affiliates to look up phone numbers, find email addresses, create email groups, and more.

  • Consulting. You can contact the ITS Service Center for answers to your questions about accessing and using the services included in the standard computing services.

Some of the above services are provided on a per-term basis. For purposes of the standard computing services, a term is defined as a four-month period. Terms begin in September, January, and May.

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How Do I Get the Standard Computing Services?

The standard computing services are automatically set up for incoming students when they create their uniqname online. For details about who receives what services when, see Getting a Uniqname, MCommunity Directory Profile, and Computing Services.

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Who Is Eligible to Receive the Services?

Those eligible to receive the services include all Ann Arbor U-M students who are listed by their department as "Active in Program," doctoral candidates and pre-candidates, all faculty (including emeritus faculty), and all full-time or part-time staff. Questions about eligibility should be directed to the ITS Service Center.

Retired staff are not eligible for the standard computing services, but they do retain use of their Google Apps UMICH account during their retirement

Departments can request computing services for their sponsored affiliates. Sponsored affiliates receive a Google Apps UMICH account automatically as part of the sponsorship process.

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What If I Need Additional Computing Services from ITS?

ITS provides some additional computing services for which there are varying charges. See Billing for Additional Services for how these charges are billed. The additional services include the following:

  • Additional black-and-white laser printing in the Campus Computing Sites above the 400 pages for students or 50 pages for faculty and staff per term included in the standard computing services. If you print more, you will be charged $0.06 per printed side of page. Printing resources are provided to support academic activities and should be used responsibly; they are not for personal use.

  • Additional IFS file storage above the 10-gigabyte quota included in the standard computing services. To get additional personal file storage space beyond 10 gigabytes, contact the ITS Service Center. There is a small monthly charge for additional storage space. Instructors can request IFS space for classes, and groups can request IFS space for university-related work. Send email to ifs-support@umich.edu.

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Billing for Additional Services

For students. Students who use additional ITS computing services beyond those in the standard computing services will have the charges billed directly to their university student account. (This is the same account through which tuition and other fees are billed.) "Additional computing services" will appear as a line item on students' bills.

In a few cases, departments may opt to pay for some of these services. Graduate students who have additional computing needs related to research, course instruction, or thesis preparation are encouraged to check with their department to see if funds are available.

For faculty and staff. Faculty and staff who use additional ITS computing services beyond those in the standard computing services may have the charges billed to university accounts. Faculty and staff with questions should check first with their departmental administrators. The ITS Service Center can also help answer questions concerning billing for ITS computing services.

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Using Services Over the Summer and After You Leave U-M

Students will continue to receive the standard computing services for as long as their department has them listed as "Active in Program." This means that students who don't take classes during the summer continue to receive the standard computing services during the summer.

See What Happens to Your Uniqname, Directory Profile, and Computing Services After You Leave U-M for details about access to standard computing services after you leave the university.

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Additional Resources

Visit ITS's Information System to obtain ITS computer documentation and other resources. A list of relevant documents follows:

The ITS Service Center provides a variety of computing help resources.

For further help with this or any other topic, call 734-764-HELP [4357] or submit an online service request.

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