The VCU eID is the username used, along with a corresponding eID password, to you to access VCU resources such as myVCU Portal, VCU Mail, Canvas, VCU Libraries resources, eServices, VCU SafeNet and other central and departmental applications. 

Your eID is an alphanumeric set of characters. Your eID is not your student or employee number (also known as your V-number, vID, or Banner number). VCU eIDs that belong to individuals typically do not contain dashes, underscores, or other special characters. 

The VCU eID vision is to provide all VCU affiliates with authenticated secure access to the information they need through the web using a simple, single sign-on process.

For more information about the VCU eID and ways it can be used, please visit https://ts.vcu.edu/askit/eid/.

Yes! ALL currently-enrolled students are expected to use Duo for 2-factor authentication to most VCU services that use the Central Authentication Service portal. 

If you don't have a smartphone, you may be eligible for a security token.

For assistance with purchasing a security token, and to learn about Duo, please visit our Security Highlights section. 

While you might be able to use a Chromebook or an iPad (or other tablet) for some classes, many will require that you have a macOS or Windows laptop to be able to complete your coursework. 

ALL VCU students are required to purchase a laptop computer that meets our baseline requirements. To learn more about these requirements, please visit our Buy/Bring a Laptop section.

Yes, you can! VCU allows students to use their financial aid disbursement for one-time technology expenses such as purchasing a laptop computer. To learn more, visit our Financial Aid section.

You should budget/plan to spend an amount that covers not only the cost of your laptop computer, but also an accidental damage warranty.

Generally, we recommend somewhere between $1,000 and $1,600 for most laptop computers that meet VCU's baseline requirements for new students. 

To learn more about how much to budget and our requirements, visit our Buy/Bring a Laptop section. 

Yes! VCU does offer loaner laptops for currently-enrolled students! However, depending on your needs, we may only provide you with a Chromebook for temporary use. 

If you need a macOS or Windows laptop for the semester, you may request one however you will be required to demonstrate specific software needs that relate to your classes (not just personal preference), and that you've already purchased a laptop that meets VCU's baseline requirements. If your laptop simply won't run the software you need due to operating system compatibility that's ok. That's one reason why we offer macOS and Windows loaner laptops. 

Disclaimers:

This service is NOT intended to offer a long-term replacement option for a personal laptop.

ALL currently-enrolled VCU students are required to buy/bring a personally-owned laptop.

All loaner laptops are VCU are provided on a fixed-length basis, meaning you can keep them only for a certain period of time before you will be required to return them.

Failure to return VCU-owned equipment may result in academic integrity violations, fines and fees, and in some cases reporting of theft to the VCU Police.

Late returns and repeated abuse of the terms and conditions of this service offering may result in denial of equipment borrowing privileges. 

No! You do not need to buy a subscription for ANY of these software titles! 

Additionally, for ALL currently-enrolled VCU students, we provide access to a variety of other software titles at no additional cost under the VCU Student Software Bundle.

To learn more about how to access and install these software titles and many more, please visit our Software section.

VCU has several different technology support providers across both campuses! Here are a few quick tips to help get you to the right support provider based on your needs. 

Visit our Get Help section to learn more about all of the technology support providers mentioned below. 

If you need general technology/software support, we recommend that you reach out to the IT Support Center to get started. 

For hardware repairs for your laptop, visit the VCU FixIt shop located inside the Barnes & Noble RamTech store on West Broad St.

If you live in a dorm on-campus and are having virus/malware issues, check with VCU ResNet as they may be able to help. 

If you have an Apple or Dell laptop that is physically broken and requires repairs, please visit the VCU FixIt shop located inside the Barnes & Noble RamTech store on West Broad St.

Yes! You DO need home internet access!

ALL currently-enrolled VCU students MUST have an active home internet connection that meets VCU's requirements for home internet access.

VCU students who are residing within an on-campus housing dorm or VCU-operated house apartment that uses the VCU SafeNet wireless network automatically meet these requirements.

If you are commuting to campus daily/weekly, and/or taking classes remotely, please be sure to review our home internet access requirements at the link below and use the speed test websites we've linked to determine if your internet connection is fast enough.  

Our requirements are based on the FCC Broadband Speed Guide as well as our own service metrics for services and systems we host in our own data center as well as services that are cloud-hosted.

To learn more about these requirements and affordable internet access options, please visit our Home Internet Access Requirements section. 

The VCU Student Software Bundle is a collection of software provided to students under the Student Technology Fee. This collection includes titles such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, Top Hat, IBM SPSS, and many more! 

To learn more about all of the software titles included in the VCU Student Software Bundle, visit our Software section. 

Yes! We offer a variety of different spaces across both campuses!

Although some spaces are open to ALL currently-enrolled VCU students (and some even to the general public), typically, usage of computer labs and makerspaces is for students affiliated with specific programs within a college/school or department. 

To view a list of spaces available across VCU and their access policies, please visit our sections on Computer Labs and Makerspaces.

The VCU OnePrint program provides printing access to ALL currently-enrolled VCU students for their basic printing needs.

If you need to print something larger than the standard 8.5x11 sheet of paper, like a poster or other large-format print project, we recommend that you contact the VCU Creative Printing Bureau for assistance with printing our your project. 

To learn more about these services, please visit our Printing section. 

For all the latest info on how to secure your accounts and devices, head over to our Security Tips section!

You'll want to make sure you have Duo installed on your smartphone and setup for push notifications when you sign-in to your accounts/devices off-campus.

While required for VCU accounts, we also highly recommend using multi-factor authentication (also known as MFA, 2FA, 2-factor, two-factor, etc), with any of your personal accounts whenever available!