Desk Assignments & Keys
Each summer, the current GGSA leadership does an inventory of graduate student desk space, and uses the desk space requests submitted through that year’s spring review to assign desks to graduate students based on need for the following academic year. All incoming graduate students should have access to an office and desk space upon arrival. If you go on leave at any point during your graduate career, your desk will likely be reassigned to another student. When you come back from leave, you will be reassigned to a desk.
Entering into the program, incoming graduate students will be assigned keys to the building, departmental facilities, and their assigned offices. The key assignment process is conducted during the departmental orientation. If have any problems with your keys or did not receive them, please see the Departmental Fiscal Specialist.
Graduating students will be contacted by the departmental fiscal officer around the time of their graduation about returning keys. This is not done because the department is eager to kick you out. Rather, unreturned keys are a serious issue, as it often results in the costly process of rekeying locks, issuing new keys, etc. If you graduate at the end of the spring semester but wish to retain your desk space throughout the summer, you should communicate your request to the Department Chair and Departmental Fiscal Officer in advance. These requests are handled on a case-by-case basis, and are contingent on departmental space availability. Regardless of when you plan to depart, please be sure to return your keys!
Mailbox
Mailboxes are provided for all enrolled graduate students in SMI411. If you are going on leave and need to have access to a mailbox in the department, please inform the department Fiscal Specialist that you would like to continue to have a mailbox in the department for the duration of your leave. You can also specify your need for a mailbox while on leave in the narrative statement you submit each year for the Annual Review. You are responsible for having your mail picked up and forwarded while away from the department.
Following graduation, the undergraduate staff assistant will update the graduate student mailbox listings. What this usually entails is the removal of all students who have graduated. This is not because we are eager to kick you out, but rather it is to make space for incoming graduate students. If you wish to retain your mailbox for some amount of time after you graduate (such as through the summer after a spring graduation), please inform the Fiscal Specialist of your request in advance of your graduation. These requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis, depending on space availability.
Directory/Website
Please complete the online Personal Release linked here to grant permission for the university to make use of your image. Please also visit http://identity.uw.edu to update your preferred name.
When you enter the program, you will either have a picture taken by a member of the departmental staff or provide a picture of your own. These will be displayed on the “Current Graduate Students” bulletin board on the fourth floor of Smith Hall.
When you graduate, your departmental picture in the “Current Graduate Students” display on the fourth floor hallway will be removed. For spring graduates, your pictures will likely be removed at the end of summer when the photos of the incoming cohort are put up. Your picture will be transferred to the “Dearly Departed” photo collection in the Student Lounge.
As a current graduate student, you will be listed under "graduate students" on the departmental website. Your name, interests, previous degrees, and contact information will be included. You also have the option to include a link to your personal website. Please provide this information to the Director of Academic Services so that your profile can be created. Feel free to update it at any time by sending an email to the Director of Academic Services.
After graduation, your graduate student profile will be removed from the departmental website. So that you are able to retain an online academic presence—especially if you are shifting from one academic institution to another—your profile will not immediately disappear. If you graduate at the end of spring quarter, for instance, your profile and contact information will not be removed until incoming graduate students are added to the website at the start of the autumn term.
Technology Policies and Practices
This document outlines user policies and practices for geography undergraduate and graduate students, specifics for Research and Teaching Assistants, as well as overall policy applying to any students enrolled in classes that use Geography labs. The university’s central computing policy (http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/policy (Links to an external site.)) remains the comprehensive document guiding the use of all IT resources on campus. This document outlines important department-level practices that maintain the integrity of our networks, labs, and data; manage our use of consumable resources such as paper and toner; and help us plan ahead for space, funding, and personnel needs. These policies provide structure and guidance for our use of shared resources without squelching creativity.
Please review the following policies and regulations related to computing and technology. Do not hesitate to contact the Geography Help Desk with any questions or concerns by e-mailing geoghelp@uw.edu or calling 206-616-8668. Evening and weekend support is provided by student lab monitors. If you have a specific computing need that requires an exception to some of the practices outlined here, contact the IT Services Supervisor or attend a quarterly Departmental Technology Planning meeting.
Access to Geography Resources
Computer Logons
All computer labs in Geography are accessed using your UW NetID. If you forget your password, please contact UW-IT’s help desk for assistance. All other issues should be address to department IT.
Rooms
Department-controlled spaces (401, 409, 415c, Starlight), can be reserved for any purpose related to the department’s research, teaching and service activities. Any student, faculty or staff member in the department may reserve one of these spaces by sending an email to Nell Gross (ngross@uw.edu) and/or Parwati Martin. Please include the purpose of the reservation, the date, the start and end times, and the preferred location. When scheduling needs conflict, department staff will consider the following priorities:
- class sections, partner programs, and faculty meetings;
- administrative activities related to department operations (e.g. hiring searches, program reviews, standing committees, fundraising, etc.);
- graduate student exams (a.k.a. “defenses”);
- collective activities for any other aspect of department life, such as reading groups, co-writing, co-grading, GGSA, Plenum, or other student groups and committees.
Equipment
The following equipment can be checked out for meetings or classes:
- PC Laptop (LAPTOP-PC)
- Mac Laptop (LAPTOP-MAC)
- Epson Projector (PROJECTOR-EPSON)
- Dell Projector (PROJECTOR-DELL)
Google Calendar Reservations and Check-Outs
Each room or item available for checkout has a Google Shared Calendar associated with it. Faculty, staff, and graduate students should have view access to all the shared calendars via your UW Gmail account. If you are unable to schedule a resource, please e-mail geoghelp@uw.edu for assistance.
To access the shared calendars and book a room or equipment item, point your browser to http://www.google.com/calendar and login with your UW NETID (include @uw.edu) and password. Once logged in, you should see the available shared calendars under My Calendars (additional instructions here: http://depts.washington.edu/geog/calendaring/). To check out a room or equipment item, click the menu to the right of the desired calendar name (hover over the calendar name and an arrow will appear to the right) and select "Create event on this calendar."
Once you have selected an available date/time, please fill in the following information:
Title/Event Name: <Your Name> – <Equipment Code (see above)>
Date/Time: Include necessary buffer time in your reservation to help plan for and prevent issues with overlap. Equipment may only be picked up and returned during office hours (lab monitors do not have the key for the equipment cabinet). If you need the equipment earlier than 8:15am and/or later than 5pm, you will need to plan to have the equipment overnight. You are responsible for the safe transport and storage of the equipment while it is in your possession – this includes the equipment, plus any included cables/peripherals and the carry case. You will lose privileges to the equipment if it is returned with any items missing. You may be required to pay replacement costs if you damage or lose the equipment.
Lab Locations, Hours, and Policies
Sherman Lab, Room 401; Collaboratory, Room 415 and 415C
- Fall, Winter, Spring Quarters
- Monday – Thursday: 8:15am – 7pm
- Friday: 8:15am – 4:30pm
- Saturday: Closed
- Sunday: Closed
- Summer Quarter:
- Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm
- Saturday, Sunday: Closed
Student lounge, Room 411
- Fall, Winter, Spring Quarters
- Monday – Friday: 8am – 5pm
- Saturday, Sunday: Closed
- Summer Quarter
- Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 4:30pm
- Saturday, Sunday: Closed
Copy Room
- Monday – Friday: 8:15am – 5pm
- Saturday/Sunday: Closed
Graduate students with keys may access the student lounge, and copy room off-hours, however please turn out the lights and lock the doors when finished.
Lab Policies
Eating and drinking is not allowed in the labs! NO EXCEPTIONS!
No software is to be downloaded and/or installed onto any of the lab machines without the explicit consent of the IT Services Supervisor. This includes, but is not limited to, applications, web browser plug-ins and related software, games, fonts, and/or utilities. Users do NOT have administrative access and will not be granted admin credentials to lab machines. All software installations should be submitted before the start of quarter if needed for teaching or required coursework.
Users should avoid saving anything to the local hard drives of computers in Geography labs. Students should store files to their own external USB drive, cloud services, or use the UW’s central file storage services: http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/wares/online-storage/
In some courses, students will be using very large files that cannot be handled over the network. Students should copy data to C:\Temp while working on these files, and then copy the file back to their allotted network space when finished, to ease network congestion. These files will automatically be removed from the computer when it reboots.
When a class or lab section is being taught in the Sherman Lab, other students’ access to empty computers is at the discretion of the instructor and depends on available space and the needs of the class or lab section currently in session. Instructors may opt to close the lab completely, however if other students are given access they can and will be asked to leave if they are disruptive or violate any lab rules.
Printing and Copying
Printing for Individual Academic Use
Printing in labs is administered by Dawg Prints and students will pay for their prints via their Husky card. There is color printing in 401. Unnecessary printing should be minimized to reduce resource waste. Assignments should be submitted/accepted electronically in all cases where possible.
Copy and Scan Access for Graduates
TAs and RAs should not pay for copying or printing that has been required by the instructor or supervisor for teaching purposes. If you require the ability to make copies but do not yet have an assigned copy code, please contact the IT Services Supervisor. All graduates are entitled to a code to access the Scan function on the copier and can copy/print up to 300 pages per quarter for departmental employment and your own research and writing needs. To request additional pages, please contact the IT Supervisor, including a brief explanation of the circumstances of your request.
General Computing Policies & Best Practices
Safe computing practices
Scan all external media (USB drives, etc.) for viruses when connecting them to any department computer. Windows users: If the computer does not automatically initiate a scan when you plug in the device, right click on the device and choose ‘Scan with Sophos’. Report any viruses that are flagged by your virus protection software immediately to geoghelp@uw.edu.
Installation privileges and guidelines
- Graduate student requests for additional software on shared computers in student offices will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the IT Services Supervisor with information about the specific software needed. All software must be legally licensed for its intended use.
- No user may install anything on a computer in a lab unless they have requested and been given explicit permission by the IT Services Supervisor.
- All users: Do not download games or any other recreational software to department computers.
- All users: Do not download or install any applications that are unfamiliar or unknown to you.
Requesting computing assistance and problem-solving
Requests for computing assistance should be made to geoghelp@uw.edu with exceptions noted previously in this document. Please include the following information:
- Your name
- UW NetID
- Computer name (usually located on the monitor or on the top/front of the computer) or printer name
- Location
- As much info about the problem as you can give (what software, what you were doing when the problem happened, exact text of any error messages that were generated, etc.)
If you have forgotten your UW NetID password or are having issues with the UW U-drive, please contact the UW IT Helpdesk by e-mailing help@uw.edu or calling 206-221-5000.
Take responsibility for reporting problems or broken equipment in the labs; please do not assume that someone else already reported it!
New Technology
If you have ideas for new technology for the department, please consider attending a quarterly Department Technology Meeting or consult with the IT Services Supervisor about submitting a Student Technology Fund (STF) proposal.
If you have specific technology needs directly related to teaching or graduate work, please write up your needs and submit them to the IT Services Supervisor, as well as the head of your committee and the department chair, for review.
Confidentiality of Files
To insure confidentiality and compliance with FERPA, all student academic files are closed to any persons other than the student, departmental faculty, designated department staff, and those specifically authorized by the student in writing. Students may inspect all material in their files (except letters written confidentially) in the office of the Director of Academic Services. All student data must be stored in accordance with university policy and state/federal law.