IT Information for New Employees

As required under Policy SC14, Acceptable Use and Security of UBC Electronic Information and Systems, the CIO has published Information Security Standards that govern the use and protection of University data and computing resources. All Users of UBC Electronic Information and Systems are responsible and accountable for following these Standards.

See:  Information Security Standards for more information including a complete list of the Standards, resources, glossary and Frequently Asked Questions.

All services and applications that require a CWL account to log in will also require a second factor of authentication at initial log in.  This includes Virtual Private Network (VPN), Outlook Web Access (outlook.office.com), and any CWL-authenticated web application (e.g. SharePoint, Canvas, Qualtrics, etc.)

Follow the detailed step-by-step instructions to enroll your first device. Once you are enrolled you can manage any of the authentication methods associated with your account, including adding or removing a device. See UBC Multi-factor Authentication. 

As a full-time, ongoing faculty or staff member, you may have received a UBC computer through the Computer Replacement Program. All UBC computers are configured with the standard image using UBC licensed software. Additional accessories (i.e. monitor(s), web cam, wireless keyboard or mouse) must be purchased by the department.

For research computers, see Research Computing.

Personally-owned computing devices used for University Business either at home or off campus, must have up-to-date anti-malware and spyware cleaning software installed (except for smartphones and tablets that do not offer this feature) and be configured to update at least once per day. There are many options for your choice of current anti-malware, including UBC-recommended EDR software at no cost.  For more information, see:  Minimum Cybersecurity Controls for UBC Employees

Faculty and staff at UBC are provided with an Faculty and Staff mail (FASmail), complete with calendaring features.  You can access FASmail using the Outlook program or via a web browser.

Your actual FASmail address is <cwl>@mail.ubc.ca. For your convenience, you can provision an email alias in the form of Firstname.Lastname@ubc.ca.  Any mail addressed to your email alias will be delivered to your actual email address. See:  How to Alias FASmail 

For more information on UBC email including how to set up UBC email on your personal device, see: UBC Faculty & Staff Email FAQ

Please Note:

• All UBC employees, including Student employees, will be granted access to FASmail during their employment.  Access is revoked at the end of the appointment.
• Student Employees should avoid using FASmail for academic purposes as access to the email will be revoked at the end of their appointment.
• For security and privacy reasons, email forwarding from FASmail to private email accounts, such as Gmail or Hotmail accounts, is prohibited. However, forwarding FASmail accounts to email accounts at other public sector institutions is acceptable under limited circumstances.

UBCO hosts several wireless networks which are available across the Campus. Information on available Wifi can be found here:  UBCO IT Wifi

Follow these step-by-step instructions to connect to the ubcsecure Wireless Network using AutoConnect.

Use Autoconnect

Online / Cloud Storage:

• OneDrive (Your Personal Online Storage):  Microsoft (MS) OneDrive is a file hosting and synchronization service operated by Microsoft, as part of their suite of MS 365 applications. MS OneDrive allows users to securely store, share, and synchronize files and folders from anywhere at any time.  OneDrive can be accessed online at https://portal.office.com using a personal or UBC device.  See: Microsoft OneDrive
• Teams & SharePoint (Your Team’s Online Storage):  Microsoft (MS) Teams is a collaboration tool for groups to create content and share the information they need to work together. The tool is operated by Microsoft as part of their MS 365 suite. MS Teams enables users across the University to connect via instant messaging, video conferencing, online meetings, and simultaneously work on a document in real-time together.  See: Microsoft Teams / SharePoint

Network Drives:

UBC IT arranges campus-wide licensing agreements for common and widely used software titles and provides consultation on the purchase of non-standard software for research, teaching or administrative purposes.

For information on available software, visit the UBC IT Software Licensing page. For support downloading an application or to order other software not currently offered, submit an Order New Software ticket in the UBC Self-Service Portal.

UBC IT Okanagan has published self-support instructional videos to illustrate the presentation options of general AV equipment in the faculty teaching spaces.

For general support, or to book an orientation session, please submit a request using the UBC Self-Service Portal.

UBCO Constellations offers a suite of emerging media and technology to faculty, staff, and students. Spaces are available for use by all UBC Okanagan staff, faculty and students.

UBC Studios Okanagan is a media production centre and equipment loans service dedicated to supporting UBC’s vision, purpose and values through the enhancement of education, research, campus experience and community engagement.

The UBC IT Enterprise Services Status page provides current information about the status of our enterprise services.

Stay informed with UBC IT Okanagan by subscribing to our monthly UBCO IT Newsletter!

Join the UBCO IT Engagement Team Channel for real-time notifications and information sharing.