On behalf of the ITS Department, welcome to the PCOM community. As you begin your academic or professional career, please take the time to review the ITS Policies and Procedures before you complete the setup of your PCOM accounts. Students should also review our computer recommendations below to ensure their systems are compatible on our network.
Students should receive their account credentials via email as part of their new student information from the Office of Admissions. This occurs after the student’s final deposit is received.
New employees should receive their account credentials on their first day of employment.
Requests for employee network accounts must be initiated by Human Resources and must be submitted to the hiring department. The Authorization for System Access form (located on myPCOM) must be submitted by the employee's department head in order for a network account to be created. The hiring department must submit the completed form at least four days prior to the employee’s first day of employment.
PCOM supports both Windows and Apple systems. In general, the newer the laptop or computer, the better your experience will be.
Before you purchase a laptop or desktop computer, we recommend you to examine how you will use it. Your work habits, possible fields of study and interests should shape your decision.
Decide between a Mac or a Windows system. The platform should match your interests. In general, both will work on PCOM’s Network. Many of the major vendors, such as Apple, Dell, Lenovo and HP offer discounts to students.
Tablets such as iPads may not support every system or program so we recommend using them as a supplement, rather than a replacement, for a traditional laptops and computers.
If you are planning on buying a computer to use for the next three or more years, we would recommend the computer you select meet the following specifications:
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Processor |
Intel Core i5 or newer |
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Operating System |
Recommended options include:
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Office Suite |
Recommended options include:
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Memory (RAM) |
8 GB of RAM, or higher |
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Storage |
128 GB hard disk or higher |
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Additional features |
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Examplify is secure test-taking software for student's computers. The software locks down the testing environment so that students cannot use the Internet or other programs during exam sessions.
Examplify can be used on most modern Microsoft Windows-based computers (i.e. purchased within the last 3-4 years). Please see specific system requirements as noted on ExamSoft's website. Examplify cannot be used on virtual operating systems such as Microsoft's Virtual Machine, Parallels, VMware, VMware Fusion or any other virtual environments.
Minimum System Requirements for Windows
Examplify can be used on most modern Mac OS X based computers (i.e. purchased within the last 3-4 years). Please see specific system requirements as noted below. Examplify cannot be used on virtual operating systems such as Microsoft's Virtual Machine, Parallels, VMware, VMware Fusion or any other virtual environments. View the website below for specific requirements needed to use Examplify on your Apple Macbook, Macbook Air or Macbook Pro natively.
| Note: All MacBook Pro users must download the most recent version from the ExamSoft portal (at least 2.6.0). |
Discounted software is available to students via journeyed.com.
Please note that Office 365 is made available to all PCOM students free of charge.
