Students and educators at Northwood University can download Microsoft Office 365 Education for free, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Teams, plus additional collaboration tools.

You may find it practical and efficient to have your own printer, especially during peak periods of lab use for midterms and finals. However, a printer is not required. All campus computer labs are equipped with laser printers and web printing is available to any computer lab -- seven days a week, virtually 24 hours a day.

A print management system is in place to keep track of all personal student printing. Northwood provides students a $75 balance to use toward printing at the beginning of the year -- each print job costs 10 cents for black and white and 15 cents for color. Your remaining balance will show on the desktop when you log onto a computer in any one of the campus labs. 

**Personal wireless printers -- You cannot plug a wireless printer into the Ethernet port in your room. Your wireless printer must use Bluetooth or a cable that connects directly to your computer. IT does not support setup or troubleshooting personal printing issues. 

Yes. Northwood has several on-campus academic computer labs, with a capacity of over 335 workstations available for student use. Please be aware that due to lab restrictions, students should NOT save any information on lab machines as they will be erased nightly between 2-6AM.

Finding a computer, printer or software applications at Northwood has never been easier. Download the LabFind app to start using today!

Information Technology (IT) supports the total campus community. The IT Help Desk is the first point of contact for IT services and support for students, faculty, administrators and support staff. The IT Help Desk is located on the second floor of Griswold Communications Center and is available to assist students on campus. If your computer does have a problem, stop in to visit the IT Help Desk and we will determine if it is hardware or software. If it is hardware, you will need to call the manufacturer or third party retailer to repair your device. 

The service is complimentary best effort PC repair and will not provide any hardware or software required to resolve any given issue. Please note that computers are serviced on a first come-first serve basis. The extent of the problem, how long it takes to correct and how many computers are in for service may affect how long your computer will be with computer services.

NOTE: Be sure to back-up all data, remove passwords and bring the charging cable when dropping off your device for repair.

IT concentrates its computer hardware support and services on the computers of students who live on-campus. Our technicians will not visit off-campus residences; however, students living off-campus can bring their computer (and charging cable) to the IT Help Desk located on the second floor of the Griswold Communication Center for support.

1. Manufacturer's tech phone number -- You will need this number to call for hardware repair service if you are under warranty from the manufacturer.
2. Original recovery or restoration disks for your operating system and important software (remember, we do not have copies) -- These disks are provided by the manufacturer or you may be given the opportunity to create your own set of recovery disks by the manufacturer. Check the literature or ask the salesperson before making a purchase.
3. External hard drive -- You should protect your files by making a copy of them to an external hard drive or an online backup service. All students are given 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage space to save their active schoolwork. It can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection.

Yes, you can bring more than one computer or tablet. The northwood wireless network is easily accessible by any device with wireless capabilities. Students are allotted one Ethernet port to hard wire their computer in their rooms.

Students have two methods to access the Internet on campus.

1. WiFi access. You can connect to your device to the wireless northwood network. Once connected to the northwood network you should be prompted to register your device to get out to the world wide web.
2. Ethernet access. You can connect your computer to the Internet with an Ethernet cable to the port in your dorm room. You must register your device after plugging into the Ethernet port in your dorm. We recommend your device have a fully updated anti-virus program running on your computer.

All computers that access the Northwood University network are recommended to have an up-to-date antivirus package installed. PC Magazine provides a list of the best Antivirus, Malware, Ransomware and Spyware software found here. Northwood University does not endorse a given package over another and provides no warranty or support.

If you run your antivirus software and the software locates a virus that it is not able to remove or you believe your computer has been damaged by a virus, you can bring your computer (along with the charging cable) to the IT Help Desk located on the second floor of Griswold Communication Center to have our technicians assist.

At Northwood University, we have four mobile apps (Blackboard, My Northwood Mobile, Rave Guardian and LabFind) that will allow you to complete coursework on-the-go, find technology on campus, and help you stay safe and connected. Be sure to download them all today!