Orientation: Computing & Information Services
Topics covered in this section of the online orientation for Texas A&M distance students include: the CIS Help Desk Central, your UIN, NetID and Neo Account/email account and how to activate them, off-campus networking and internet connections, and the Open Access Labs (OALs).
As a distance learner, computing and information services are especially important to you, so we are dedicating an entire page to the TAMU Computer & Information Services (CIS).
Help Desk Central
CIS Help Desk Central (HDC) is a 24 hour service facility providing computing assistance to students, faculty and staff of Texas A&M University. The HDC serves as a clearinghouse for customer questions over a great number of computer-related issues and is manned by over thirty student workers and 15 full-time staff.
Help Desk Central is available for phone support at (979) 845-8300 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Walk-ups to Help Desk Central are also welcomed.
The HDC is located in the Computing Services Center/Teague Building (building map) in room 1112. The south-facing glass doors remain open all the time to allow 24/7 customer walkup access to Help Desk Central.
Your UIN, NetID and Neo Account
The Universal ID Number or UIN is the number sent to you by the Office of Admissions and Records after you apply for admission to TAMU. Your UIN will be used throughout your association with Texas A&M University. For more information on the UIN click here.
After you receive your UIN you may use it to activate/choose your NetID at http://neo.tamu.edu/. Email access is at this same address. Once you choose your NetID and a password your Neo Account is active which means you will be able to access online TAMU services using your Neo Account (NetID and password).
If you have any problems or questions call Help Desk Central at (979) 845-8300.
Off-Campus Networking and Internet Connections
As a member of the Texas A&M community, you have several networking alternatives available to you when you are away from the physical campus. For the most conventional access, you may want to investigate the TAMU modem bank. If high-speed access is more to your liking, TAMU is prepared to accommodate your need for trusted access. TAMU has partnered with Verizon Online to offer a DSL package that allows customers to claim an IP address inside the TAMU firewall. TAMU serves as the ISP (Internet Service Provider) for these customers, while Verizon provides the physical network access. If your internet access is provided by none of these, you can still access the TAMU network by using the VPN service.
To visit the CIS information page on off-campus networking and internet connections click here.
To read more about the campus network click here.
The Open Access Labs
For those students that will spend some time on-campus and need access to a computer lab, you may visit one of TAMUs Open Acess Labs. The Texas A&M University Open Access Computer Labs (OALs) are available for faculty and students of the University. Five Open-Access Labs, six supported locations, and one dedicated Printing Center provide access to email accounts as well as Web navigation, image-manipulation, DeskTop Publishing, spreadsheet applications, computer - to - computer communications software, programming languages, and a number of course-specific programs. Lab access is twenty-four hours per day when classes are in session in the Student Computing Center (SCC) in order to better serve the needs of the students and faculty.
First-time lab users must register either in person at one of the labs or online at https://oalinfo.tamu.edu/Account/. Students are allocated a print allowance of $30.00 each regular semester and $15.00 for the summer session to cover some of their black and white printing.
