The University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus
Information Technology Okanagan
Services

UBCO Computer Labs – Virtual Labs

Overview

UBC Okanagan offers cloud-based (virtual) computer labs to support hybrid, online and flexible learning options as required by UBC’s degree and graduate programs, courses, as well as continuing professional education and non-credit course opportunities. Virtual computer labs have a distinct advantage of being accessible anywhere, and being customized to course requirements (software applications, data sets, etc.).

Features & Benefits

  • Immediate access to fully configured virtual lab
  • Each participant retains their own instance for the duration of the course (unless shared)
  • Configured with required software
  • Student Access to OneDrive 
  • Virtualized Windows operating system  
  • Accessible anywhere, by all operating systems and devices (laptop recommended)

Requirements & Eligibility

  • Virtual labs are for instructional use only, including non-credit courses.
  • Preparation of online lab environment requires a minimum of 4 weeks’ notice to provision a new environment.
  • Departments wishing to use software not currently provisioned for UBC are responsible for obtaining quotes from the vendor, receiving an approved Privacy Impact Assessment for any software with online components or registrations, and engaging with Procurement prior to purchasing.
  • Students must have access to a personal computer and stable internet connection to access the virtual computer lab. 

Costs

  • Costs associated with the use of a virtual lab are the responsibility of the assigned department, program or course, and will vary based on configuration requirements, application set required, and anticipated student consumption (billed in hours). Please contact us for a consultation and estimate. 
  • The requesting faculty is responsible for costs associated with non-UBC provisioned software or to enhance existing licenses to enable cloud-based computing 

Getting Started

Submit a UBC Self-Service Portal ticket for consultation to assess desired software requirements. 

Support

Support is available during regular business hours.  For general support, please submit a request using the UBC Self-Service Portal.

Service Responsibilities

The following table clarifies the responsibilities of UBC IT Okanagan and those of the client.

RESPONSIBILITY – GENERAL USE SPACES
UBCO IT
CLIENT
Provisioning the lab instance✓ 
Monitoring of the service✓ 
Providing support for issues arising (business hours only)✓ 
End user training ✓
Fund costs associated with the service ✓
Define software needs and approximate hours required ✓
Raising issues requiring support by IT ✓