Working Remotely - A Guide for St. Edward's Employees

Staff and faculty may need to work remotely at times for any number of reasons. St. Edward's provides tools to help make working remotely effective.

Minimum Technology Requirements For Remote Work

These are the minimum technology requirements for working remotely:
  • Access to a desktop or laptop computer with an up-to-date operating system.
    • Note: Windows 10 23H1 or macOS 13 Ventura (or newer) is recommended.
  • 8 GB RAM or more
  • A reliable internet connection with speeds of at least 10 Mbps.
    • Note: You can test your internet speed on fast.com.
  • Webcam
  • Microphone
Here is a full list of minimum technology requirementsspecific to teaching, taking courses and working remotely. If you have questions regarding the telecommuting policy, please refer to the Employee Handbook.

Conducting Hybrid Meetings

Being able to conduct hybrid meetings is essential. We developed a guide to conducting hybrid meetings to help you ensure every meeting participant is engaged and connected.

Chat Tools

Workplace

Workplace, the university's faculty and staff communication tool, has both chat and video chat features. As the central hub for university employee communication, Workplace is a convenient platform for chat and collaboration.

Google Chat

If you need to have a quick conversation with someone when working remotely, you can use Google Chat. Google Chat isavailable from within Gmail and allows you to start individual or group chats with all faculty or staff members, and students.

From the left-hand side of your inbox, click the plus sign (+)next to your name and search for whomever you'd like to chat with.
Remote Employee Tip: Make yourself available. Updating your status on these chat tools lets your co-workers know when you're available. This transparency buildsemployee autonomy while keeping the whole team engaged.

Meetings and Videoconferencing Tools

Zoom

Zoom is another option for videoconferencing, and it has more options for those who need to conduct a meeting or class session including the option to record the session. All staff, faculty, and students have a Zoom Pro account. Visit myhilltop.stedwards.eduand search for Zoom. Log in with your St. Edward's credentials. Check out our comparison guideif you cant decide which videoconferencing tool to use.
Remote Employee Tip: Turn off your audio (mute yourself) unless you are speaking, but turn on your camera during video calls to make the experience more personal and personable. It's helpful to maintain visible communication even when remote.

We have more helpful tips in our guide to videoconferencing best practices.

Google Meet

When you want to video chat or have a video conference call with someone, Google Meet is a robust, free resource. With Meet, you canalso share files, chatand share your screen while on a call.

Remote Employee Tip: Include a GoogleMeetlink, when scheduling yourmeetings in Google Calendar. Even though you may have a meeting location, not all employeesinvited to the meeting can attend in person.

Cloud Storage and Collaboration Tools

Google Drive

Google Drive is the preferred cloud storage tool at St. Edward's. Drive has unlimited storage for students, faculty and staff and can be accessed from multiple devices. Using your St. Edwards Google account you can collaborate with colleagues or students via Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Forms, etc.

Box

Box is also available at St. Edward's with unlimited storage. You can create collaborative Box Notes, Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, etc.If you need help choosing which cloud storage solution is best for you, check out our comparison guide.
Remote Employee Tip: Sharing files in a cloud storage tool allows remote employees to access and contribute to documents from wherever and whenever they're working.

Cybersecurity Tips for Safe Remote Work

  • Avoid public Wi-Fi:Ifpossible, avoid using open wireless networks that arent secured with a password. If this is your only option, please use St. Edward's VPN to secure your connection.
  • Avoid sending sensitive data by email:Sensitive data includes personally identifiable information like Social Security numbers, credit card, banking information or sensitive medical details. If a vendor sends a procurement form that requires a credit card number, fill out the form and upload it to a more secure source like Box or Google Drive. You can send a link to the document from either of those storage services. Alternatively, in the credit card field, write Call for details.
  • Avoid storing St. Edward's data on personal machines:For university-owned data use university-provided cloud storage (i.e., Google Drive or Box) . Do not use third-party services like Dropbox or personal Google accounts for university business. Additionally, use your St. Edwards account when connecting to remote Google Meet or Zoom meetings.
  • Use university VPN:To interact off-campus with some university systems (including Banner, Workflow, Argos, BDM and Recruit, Confluence/Jira), VPN is required. St. Edwards faculty and staff are authorized automatically for use. To get started, youll need to follow the installation process.
  • Use VPN even if you don't think you need it:Software like Microsoft Office, SPSS, Nvivo and ArcGIS depend on periodic check-ins to the campus network. While you're working remotely, you must connect to the university VPN at least once a week so you don't miss any updates or run into issues.
  • Be cautious of email scamsand phishing attempts:Always check the sender's full email address. University business shouldnt be handled with personal email accounts. Avoid suspicious attachments from unknown senders. Hover over links to see the link preview to make sure they are legitimate link addresses. If you're unsure whether an email is legitimate, please report ittosupport@stedwards.edu.
  • Make sure your operating system is up-to-date:Follow the instructions for Macor Windows machines to update your OS to the latest versions.
  • Protect personal systems with anti-malware tools:For non-university-owned machines, consider one of the many antivirus options available for Mac or Windows some of these are even free.
    • Note: OIT doesnt endorse or support any of these products officially.University machines are protected with MalwareBytes (Macs) and Microsoft Defender (PCs). MalwareBytes also offers a free version that can be used to scan for malware on your personal computers.
  • Keep your web browsers up-to-date:Different browsers will handle updates in different ways, including OITs preferred browsers: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.
  • Install a good ad-blocker:We recommend uBlock Origin. As a general rule, be cautious when installing any sort of browser extension or add-on.
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