What technology requirements* do hybrid/remote students need to have in place at home to be successful in a remote program?
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Technology | Minimum Requirements & Recommendations | ||
Device | Desktop or Laptop
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CPU | Minimum Requirements: Intel Core i3 9th gen or greater or AMD Ryzen 3 and 1.6Ghz Clock Speed (minimum) Recomended Requirements: i5 10th gen (recommended) | ||
Internal Storage | 128GB – 256GB Hard Drive with 40GB free space | ||
Memory | 8GB Memory (16GB recommended) | ||
Web Browser | Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer and Safari are not suitable browsers) | ||
Operating System | Windows 10 Home or MacOS 11 or newer
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Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 (1080p) | ||
Accessories | Keyboard and Mouse; Webcam; and Microphone and Speakers (headset recommended) | ||
Internet | 15Mbps down/5Mbps up (minimum); 50Mbps down/10Mbps (recommended) |
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Technology | Minimum Requirements & Recommendations | ||
Device | Desktop or Laptop
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CPU | Intel Core i5 10th Gen, AMD Ryzen 3 or greater | ||
Internal Storage | 500GB – 1TB Solid State Drive with 150GB free space | ||
Memory | 16GB Memory (32GB recommended) | ||
Web Browser | Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer and Safari are not suitable browsers) | ||
Operating System | Windows 10 or 11 PRO
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Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 (1080p) | ||
Accessories | Keyboard and Mouse; Webcam; and Microphone and Speakers (headset recommended) | ||
Internet | 15Mbps down/5Mbps up (minimum); 50Mbps down/10Mbps (recommended) |
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Technology | Minimum Requirements & Recommendations | ||
Device | Desktop or Laptop
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CPU | Intel Core i9 or AMD Ryzen 9 (8 cores, 4GHz+ clock speed) | ||
GPU | Dedicated NVIDIA RTX 2000 or 3000 series or AMD Radeon 5000 or 6000 series graphics card that is DirectX 12 compatible with at least 8GB of VRAM | ||
Internal Storage | 2TB of total storage space with at least 500GB free on an M.2 NVMe drive | ||
Memory | 32GB+ Memory | ||
Web Browser | Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer and Safari are not suitable browsers) | ||
Operating System | Windows 10 or Windows 11 Home
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Screen Resolution | WQHD Display – 2560 x 1440 (2k) | ||
Accessories | Keyboard and Mouse; Webcam; and Microphone and Speakers (headset recommended) | ||
Internet | 15Mbps down/5Mbps up (minimum); 50Mbps down/10Mbps (recommended) |
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Technology | Minimum Requirements & Recommendations |
Device | Apple Desktop “Mac Mini” or Apple Laptop “Macbook Air” |
CPU | Apple Silicon M1 or greater (Intel-based Mac computers are not suitable) |
Internal Storage | Minimum - 500GB or greater Solid-State Drive (SSD) with 250GB free space Recommended - 1TB SSD |
Memory | Minimum - 8GB Memory Recommended - 16GB Memory |
Web Browser | Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge (Safari is not a suitable browser) |
Operating System | macOS Ventura or the latest version of macOS (pre-release/beta versions are not suitable) |
Accessories | Keyboard and Mouse; Webcam; and Microphone and Speakers (headset recommended) |
Screen Resolution | 1920x1080 (1080p) |
Internet | 15Mbps down/5Mbps up (minimum); 50Mbps down/10Mbps (recommended) |
IMPORTANT
For effective operation, the computer must have an Intel i3 9th generation processor or higher. Anything less may lead to performance issues with Microsoft Teams, including frequent freezing during classes. Additionally, multitasking with applications such as Microsoft Word alongside Teams could result in system instability without a suitable processor. When idle, Windows typically consumes at least 2 GB of RAM, potentially increasing to 4 GB when running Microsoft Teams. Google Chrome can use between 500 MB to 1 GB of RAM. Systems often experience significant slowdowns or freezing when RAM usage exceeds 80%, as ongoing applications continue to demand resources, leading to potential crashes.
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Students require a modern computer in good working condition that is equipped to view multimedia presentations (video and audio) with speakers/headphones and a webcam/microphone (either integrated or USB) to participate in class using software like Teams or Adobe Connect. Although not ideal, students may also use a desktop computer without webcam/mic if they have a phone or tablet to participate in remote classrooms if needed.
| Note |
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Does it matter if students have a Windows vs Mac PC? Our learning environment is built around Windows 10 laptops and desktop PCs, as it is the most common platform used by our employers. Windows laptop users will have more functionality away from the classroom environment (e.g., MS Office learning via SAM/MindTap) resulting in a better experience when connecting remotely.
While an Apple Mac can be used, there are software programs that may not function the same as on a Windows platform. Students would be required to download additional programs in order to connect with our Windows-based environment. Apple Mac users may not have the same user experience and may have difficulties navigating certain course materials.
Does it matter if students have a Chromebook? Laptops and PCs running Linux or ChromeOS (Chromebooks) are not considered suitable for participating in our programs. |
What type of computer or laptop will I need to participate in-class, while learning remotely?
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