Getting Connected: Off Campus

Working and studying from home has become a vital part of modern-day life. Ensuring that you can connect and access the University network and critical applications is crucial for staff and students.

If you are a student, in nearly all cases all you will need a device and a reliable internet connection and you should be able to access everything you need to study effectively from off-campus.  If you are a university staff member, or you are a post-graduate student, read on!

In ITDS, we provide you with solutions so you can work from home efficiently, accessing Western files, software, and services you use at work, easily and effectively. To help, we have created helpful user guides and videos to help you get connected while working off-campus.

Likewise, to help you work and study from home during the current pandemic, we have a dedicated ITDS COVID-19 webpage (opens in a new window) to help you as well.

Before You Get Started

In ITDS, we recommend checking to see if you actually need to access the University network or not. There are many tools and services that are available and easily accessible to staff and students, all you need is a reliable internet connection. These tools and services include, but is not limited to OneDrive, Outlook, MS Teams, Office365, Zoom, etc.

We've created a checklist below to help you work out what you will need.


Do You Need Access to the University Network?

To help you work out what services and tools you will need when working from home or off-campus, we have provided a checklist to make it a little bit easier.

Please read each one of the three options to see which one you will need and the appropriate links below to provide further assistance. Staff who do not fit under option 1 would need Option 2 OR Option 3, as for instance, you would not need both options 2 and 3 together.

As always, if you have any further questions and need further assistance, please visit the ITService Desk.(opens in a new window)

Option 1: MS Office, Email, Cloud-based Services, etc

When I am working from home, I need access to some or all of these services, which includes:

  • MS Office and my own personal work files stored in “My Documents” or on Microsoft OneDrive
  • Staff Email
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Sharepoint
  • vUWS, WSU Library services, Basware, Staff-Online, TEMS, WesternNow staff service portal

You are set to go!  You should already have MS Office installed on your WSU laptop, and other than that all you need is a reliable Internet connection.

Option 2: Shared Drives, Callista, TRIM, etc

I need to access the above (option 1) and one or more of the following services, which includes:

  • A Shared Drive/Folder on the university network
  • Callista
  • Oracle Financials / iProcurement
  • Alesco
  • HPE Content Manager (aka TRIM)
  • Staff E-Forms

You are going to need to use the University's remote desktop system (Citrix). You can find information about Citrix and how to get it set up on your computer at home here .(opens in a new window)

Option 3: Q-Master and NEC Soft-Phone (only for certain Western Staff)

I need access to the above (Option 1 and/or Option 2) and specific access to the following services, which includes:

  • Q-Master and NEC Soft-Phone (Contact Centre, Student Central and IT Service Desk staff only)

You are going to need to use the university VPN (Virtual Private Network) system. You can find information about how to request access to the VPN system here.(opens in a new window)