If you need to work from home, IT@Cornell can help.

Computer

If possible, do your work from a university-owned computer. If you need to use a personally owned device, take steps to ensure its security. You can install Microsoft Office applications for free on your personally owned device.

Internet and cell phone coverage

Assess whether your internet plan or cell phone plan is the right size for what you and others in your home need to do online. You may need to upgrade to a higher level of service.

• Tips for working in an area that has restricted, weak, or slow Wi-Fi, or weak cellular service indoors.
• Internet and cellular access offers from vendors.
• Cornell campus outdoor spaces with possible Wi-Fi coverage. (Cornell login required)

Teach and learn remotely

Faculty: See the Center for Teaching Innovation's Introduction to Online Teaching Tools and the university's information for faculty.

Students: See the Learning Strategies Center's Learning Online Resource Videos and the university's information for students.

Library resources: See the guide to Off Campus Access.

CU Print: When you're away from campus, you'll need to connect to Cornell VPN first, and then you'll be able to use a CU Print printer.

Online training:

• Thousands of free online courses through LinkedIn Learning and Skillsoft on the latest software, creative, and business skills.
• Career development classes and workshops offered by Cornell HR and partners.

Participate in meetings and collaborate

• Zoom provides audio and audio/video conferencing with screen-sharing and text chat features, especially for small and large groups.
• Microsoft Teams brings together chat, video or audio calls, meetings, document collaboration and review, and more, all in one place.
• Slack provides real-time chat with discussion and media sharing. Slack is not officially supported by CIT, but we recognize that it is used broadly.

Share files and documents

• Cornell Box provides great flexibility on sharing and managing files, available to faculty, staff, and students.
• Cornell G Suite (students, faculty, and staff) includes Google Drive, where you can store and share files.
• Microsoft Office includes OneDrive and Teams.
• Cornell's Secure File Transfer service lets you securely send and receive files that contain confidential and restricted information.

Answer your office phone remotely

My Extension Everywhere can automatically forward your office calls to any other phone. Please note that the standard one-time charge and monthly fee for this service are being temporarily waived as part of Cornell's response to COVID-19.

Access your work files from anywhere

You may find that you need files that are stored on a computer on campus. If your unit or department has deployed Code42 backup and restore software (you will need to ask your department's IT or computer support staff), you can use it to get a copy of any file on your computer. See our Code42 Install article and our Get Your Files Overview article.

Log on to restricted services

A small number of restricted services can only be accessed if you're connecting from a Cornell network. When you're away from campus, you'll need to connect to Cornell VPN first, and then you'll be able to connect to those services. You can use most of Cornell's IT services without Cornell VPN.

Here's a short list of services that require Cornell VPN when you're connecting from your home network (or other non-Cornell networks):

• 10-Space
• Academic Web Hosting (Dynamic, Static)
• CornellAD Quest ARS
• Managed Servers (Server Farm)
• CU Print
• Perceptive Software via WebNow
• Shared File Services (SFS)
• Activating or renewing a license for Windows or any version of Microsoft Office except Office 365 (Your computer will prompt you when this needs to be done; once activated or renewed, licenses are good for 180 days.)
• Administrator-level access to systems and databases

In addition, some department systems may require Cornell VPN when you're off-campus. Your department's IT or computer support staff can tell you if any systems have that requirement.