Supported Hardware

The Office of Computing and Informational Technology at the School of Social Work (SWIT) supports the computers and printers that belong to the School.

Unsupported Hardware

Any hardware which is not listed under the category of “Supported Hardware” is not supported, in particular the following:

• Personal printers (home and office)
• Personal laptops
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), i.e Palm Pilot , IpaQ, etc.

Limited laptop support may be available from the CUIT Helpdesk at 102 Philosophy (854-1919). Please consult your warranty for additional support. You may also visit Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT) site.

Shared/Public/Research Computers

There are three public computers for faculty research purposes currently located in cubicles on the 7th and 8th floors (cubicles 722B, 722E, and 822D). These are designed to address intermittent research related computer needs. Each computer has standard software applications including MS Office Professional Suite, SPSS, SAS, Acrobat, Mozilla Firefox, etc. and Internet access, but no printing capabilities. The computer located in cubicle 722E also has an Epson scanner available.

We define a public computer as one that is open and accessible and is set-up as a lab computer. Therefore no documents should be saved on the computer. For maintenance and security purposes, these computers will be periodically wiped.

The policies governing the use of the computers are designed based on recommendations by the School’s ARD-OSP Advisory Group, which is composed of faculty and research scientists. Faculty members and research project staff may reserve a shared/public/research computer (cubicles 722B, 722E, and 822D) in hour increments, for up to two (2) hours each day. Reservations can be made up to fourteen days in advance. To reserve a computer, use your Virtual EMS account to check availability and reserve a computer. For login assistance, please contact swrooms@columbia.edu.

NOTE: We monitor computer use and occasionally will modify our policies based on user feedback. Please send your feedback to swit@columbia.edu.

Secure Hard Drive Erase

If you are discarding old project/research computers, OCIT will securely erase information from the hard drives. To receive this service, you can either drop off the hard drive in room 419 or e-mail your request to us at swit@columbia.edu, and we will schedule a time to come by and remove the hard drive. Once the drive is securely wiped, the hard drive will be returned to the project.

Hardware & Software Recommendations and Price Quotes

OCIT staff will provide recommendations for computer configurations and secure price quotes for hardware and software for institutional purchases (purchases made with a CU Purchase Order with an FAS account).

To receive advice and/or a price quote, please e-mail your inquiry to swit@columbia.edu. For hardware purchases, be sure to include the type of computer (laptop/desktop; laser printer; etc.), price range you are seeking, and any other important requirements (speed, weight, etc.). For software purchases, please indicate the software name, version, and platform.

Occasionally, OCIT may offer CUSSW projects the opportunity to participate in a joint purchase of software to take advantage of volume purchases. CUSSW faculty members are notified of purchase details at least one month in advance.

How to purchase a computer and/or software application

Research Projects may have designated staff members who have authorization to create CU Purchase Orders with FFE (Financial Front End). If a project does not have an internal staff person, projects should e-mail their purchase request, along with the price quote and FAS account number to charge, to Neera Nischal and copy Roberto Aquino. Neera who will verify and confirm funds availability, and Roberto will then place the order.

Still have questions?

Please contact OCIT at swit@columbia.edu.