Computer & Technology Requirements for Graduate & Online

Computer & Technology Requirements for

Graduate & Online Students and Faculty

Our courses require the use of the Canvas online course system to access course documents, and to submit

assignments to instructors. Many courses also require students to take exams using Canvas. To ensure your

success in these courses, the following computer and technology requirements must be met.

Computer

Hardware

1. Desktop or laptop computer that is 4 years old or newer

a Cautionary notes about other devices:

i Surface Pro, Surface Books, and Surface Laptop devices are

supported (Non-Pro Surface devices are NOT supported).

ii Chrome books are NOT supported.

iii iPads are NOT supported.

2. At least 1GB of available file storage/hard drive space.

3. A headset that plugs into your computer (with microphone and headphones). Some

courses will offer live webinar sessions. Other courses will require students to

record narrated PowerPoint presentations. The headset will allow you to

participate in webinars and record narrations without getting an echo or other

noise.

Examples of headsets:

https://www.google.com/search?q=headset&tbm=shop

4. A web cam, if one is not included on your laptop or desktop. For HIA and HIM

students, a webcam is required for proctoring of exams. Also, with a web cam

attached to your computer, you can record videos of yourself talking to post on

Canvas and/or Voicethread, or in a live chat session. Web cams cost under $100.

If one is not included on your laptop or desktop, we recommend Logitech

webcams: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/webcam-communications/webcams

5. HIA and HIM students: your computer and room that you test in will need to meet

many requirements. Full list of testing requirements:

https://www.proctoru.com/live-plus-resource-center

You will also need a smartphone or portable 6-inch mirror. You must use either

Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome and install the ProctorU extension.

Software

1. Windows 10; MacOS 10.12 or higher

All Windows or MacOS updates should be installed as soon as possible as they become

available.

Alternate versions of Windows 10, such as Windows RT, or Windows 10 S are NOT 
supported.       
2.  Ability and privileges to install software on the computer.      
      
3.  For PCs with Windows 10, or Mac computers, security software is already installed on 
your computer, and no additional programs are necessary (and may cause issues when 
taking tests).  Any detected viruses and malware must be removed.  
      
4.  Microsoft Office or comparable programs, including Excel, PowerPoint and Word. 
      
If your email account ends in @sc.stephens.edu: 
Your student email account is an Office.com account, and comes with a free 
license of Microsoft Office 365.  To download and install Office on your 
computer, login to your student email account at https://office.com/ and then 
click the Install Software button in the upper right. 
You can also use the web-based, online version of Word, PowerPoint or Excel to 
create documents, and then store them in your student OneDrive.  You can 
connect your student OneDrive account to your Canvas account so that you can 
submit assignments directly from your OneDrive. 
 
If your email account ends in @gc.stephens.edu: 
Microsoft Office can be purchased at discount from the Microsoft Store for 
Education: 
https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/edu 
 
Your instructor(s) might require you to submit assignments in Word (.doc or 
.docx) format, but note that you can use free software like Open Office or Apple 
Pages to save documents in Word format.  Similarly, you can use online services 
like Apple iCloud or your student Google Drive account 
(https://drive.google.com/) to create documents, slides, or sheets, and then you 
can download those as .doc, .ppt., or .xls.  You can even connect your Google 
Drive account to your Canvas account so that you can submit assignments in 
Canvas directly from your Google Drive.      
5.  Browsers:  the current and first previous major releases of the following: 
Edge, Safari, Chrome, or Firefox      
          
6.  Adobe Acrobat Reader DC must be installed and kept up-to-date. Install  Adobe Reader 
at  https://get.adobe.com/reader/ 
      
   

High-Speed Internet access

Your internet connection must allow at least 5 Mb/s download and 0.9 Mb/s upload speed (ISDN

or dial-up will not work)

Check your internet connection speed on these pages:

http://speedtest.net/

http://www.meter.net/ping-test/

Contact your Internet Service Provider with any issues.

Additional Requirements for Counseling students

Many counseling courses require students to record video of themselves in training sessions. The

College uses an online recording system called SupervisionAssist. You will receive information about

your SupervisionAssist account before you need to record video. SupervisionAssist uses Zoom to record

videos. You would need a device (computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone) that has a webcam and a

web browser. Technical requirements for browsers, operating systems, and internet connection speed:

https://help.supervisionassist.com/article/339-user-technical-requirements