Student Support
Student Labs
Rhodes University offers ICT connectivity to students in various ways. All students have access to the WiFi network across campus. Most student areas now have WiFi coverage. The residences have at the very least WiFi coverage in the common rooms. Some residences have WiFi in some or all of the rooms. Up until 2016 the University provided network points in every room in the residence system. This has become too costly to sustain and new builds will in future receive WiFi connectivity in all the rooms. As the network switches reach end of life and are replaced, the replacement will be with a WiFi network. Residences are provided with at least one PC for the common room as well as a printer to make printing possible without having to go to a lab.
Labs are cleaned daily and lab assistants check that the resources in the labs are all in working order, including providing paper in the printers on a daily basis.
To find a lab, click here.
Scattered across campus there are a number of student labs. Some of these labs are booked for lectures and practicals during the day and are not accessible for use by students for general use during these times. A single centrally located lab remains open 24/7 (Jacaranda Lab or alternatively Union lab) whilst others, for security reasons are not accessible all night. Access to the labs is controlled by a student access card. Lab usage stats suggest that there are sufficient labs to meet the demand.
In addition, the Library has computers that can be used by students. In particular there are computers for the use of research in the Postgrad Commons.
Some labs are switched to generator power in the event of electricity outages. (Fountain, Guthrie and Eden Grove).
The University has a limited budget and puts the academic project first. Student labs receive new computers on a cyclical basis. A schedule exists to replace the computers in labs every 3 years.
Student Help Desk
Students are assisted with the use of the network via the Student Help Desk situated in the Library. Opening times shadow the Library times except for during swot week, exam periods and vacs where availability of the student assistants limits the times that the desk is available. An email service for service exists during the day for any times when there is no one at the desk.
Check here for Library operating hours.
Student Tech timetables: and
Network Support
Support for the network over weekends is handled in accordance with the SLA between I&TS Division and the University. Faults are reported to CPU who in turn contact the standby Network Technician who in turn escalate to the Network Architect if the fault is outside of his/her domain. The University cannot offer 24/7 support and this can result in some down time over weekends and public holidays.
PCs
The University does not provide students with their own devices but will assist students to purchase devices under certain conditions. Students on financial aid should speak to the Financial Aid office to see if they qualify.
Loan PC’s are available for students in need but these are never state of the art or laptops and it is recommended that students have access to their own devices.
Lab Bookings
Click here for Lab Bookings.
Last Modified: Tue, 19 Jul 2022 11:22:46 SAST