CS Lab Policies

The motivation for these lab policies is to grant students in-person access to Communications Facilities (CF) computers for scheduled lab and, space permitting, personal use before 4pm, while at the same time promoting social distancing. These policies complement the COVID Mitigation Strategies.

  • Labs will be closed for student access until the first day of classes.

  • Food and drinks are not allowed in any Computer Science (CS) lab.

  • Log in to CS computers requires a CS account. Computer accounts for students who have not taken a CS class recently are created in the first few days of the term, and no sooner than 1 day after a student registers. Please be patient while accounts are created. Accounts for CS majors and minors, and students who recently took a CS class, should be ready for use right away.

Remote access to CS Department systems requires a VPN connection. Please see the Quick Start Guide for instructions.

After establishing a VPN connection, refer to the CS Support Wiki and Technical Survival Guide for instructions on how to connect to CF lab computers from outside the CF building. Not all courses require students to connect remotely to CF computers. Please refer to your course syllabus and messaging from your instructor.

If you have further questions about lab access, or other technical issue, please contact your TA for your class, or your instructor.

Scheduled Use of Labs (Monday - Friday)

From 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

  • CF first floor labs, and CF 420, have scheduled labs. Students not registered for a scheduled lab section may use an available computer in CF 420 and in all first floor labs but may be asked to vacate that spot for a student whose lab section is in session.

  • Computer Lab CF 405 does not have any scheduled classes, so is available on a first come, first serve basis.

  • Computers in a room in which a lab is not scheduled are first come, first serve.

From 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

  • Computer Labs CF 162 & CF 164 are available for tutor hours with CS Tutors. Students that are not involved with tutoring may work at an available computer but may be asked to vacate a computer seat that is needed.

  • All other computer lab seats on the first floor of CF are first come, first serve.

  • Computers in CF 420 and CF 405 are available on a first come, first serve basis.

From 7:00 PM - 8:00 AM

  • All computer lab seats on the first and fourth floors of CF are first come, first serve

Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays

  • All computer lab seats on the first and fourth floors of CF are first come, first served.

View the Fall 2023 lab schedule, Winter 2024 lab schedule, Spring 2024 lab schedule.