Working Remotely

Using your University of Alberta provided laptop is the best option for working remotely. However, if you don’t have a University of Alberta laptop and need to use your personal computer, here are the steps you can follow to prepare. Don’t forget to do a test-run to make sure your equipment works as expected.

University of Alberta Guide to Working Remotely

More information:

1. Understand relevant policies 

As a member of the UAlberta community, you are entrusted with using and managing the information technology resources responsibly, respectfully and in a manner that reflects high ethical standards, mutual respect and civility, in accordance with the University’s Information Management & Information Technology Policies.

2. Think about the files and applications you’ll need to access from home, this can vary depending on the nature of your work

Identify and confirm the applications that you will require to work from home. Make a list of the applications and identify how to access them.

Many common applications such as UAlberta G Suite applications, which include Gmail, Calendar and Drive, can be accessed using only a web browser on any computer. You can also download Microsoft Office products from OnTheHub for free.

There are some work applications that will require a secure connection to the campus network. For these applications, you can use the Campus VPN to connect to them.

3. Ensure that your personal computer is updated and secure

If you don’t have a University of Alberta provided laptop, you’ll want to take extra steps to make sure your work stays secure.

If you are downloading and storing university information, you will need to ensure your home computer is up to date with Windows 10 or later, or macOS 10.13 or later, password-protected, and on a secure network connection.  It is also best practice to protect your computer with encryption.

For more information visit the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer website on How To Stay Secure & Privacy and Security Best Practices for Sharing Information.

4. Gather everything else you’ll need to be productive

When using video conferencing tools like Google Hangouts Chat and Meet, think about any additional hardware you may require: Does your computer have a built-in microphone and speaker? Do you need a headset for your phone? Are there additional things like power adapters that you’ll need to bring home from the office? Do you need to forward your office phone to an off-campus phone?

5. Don’t forget to do a test-run to make sure your equipment and applications work as expected

If you have additional questions or concerns, contact your IT Support team

Working from Home Quick Checklist

Here is a quick checklist to prepare for working from home.

  • Use a University of Alberta laptop if you have one
  • Alternatively, use your own Windows or Mac personal computer
    • Verify that your computer is up to date with Windows 10 or later, or macOS 10.13 or later
    • Apply all available updates and security patches to ensure that your computer is protected
    • Confirm that the Google Chrome web browser is installed
  • Verify that you have a secure internet connection (wired or wireless)
  • Identify the applications you need to access from your home computer
  • Install any additional applications that you need on your computer
  • Use the apps@ualberta website to access common applications
  • If you need a secure network connection to access your applications install the University of Alberta provided VPN software. In order for the University to effectively manage our VPN resources only use VPN when required.
  • Test all of your applications to verify that they work
  • Contact your IT Support team if you have any questions.