Desktop Support Services

The first rule of Zoom Club: Don’t give up control of your screen.

You do not want random people in your class or meeting taking control of the screen and sharing unwanted content with the group. You can restrict this — before the meeting and during the meeting in the host control bar — so that you’re the only one who can screen-share.

To prevent participants from screen sharing during a call, use the host controls at the bottom, click the arrow next to Share Screen and then click Advanced Sharing Options.

Under "Who can share?" choose Host Only and close the window. You can also lock the Screen Share by default for all your meetings in your web settings.

Alternatively, if you need students to share their screen during the session, you can select All Participants, and then change it back Host Only, when they are done.

You can also dismiss a participant from a meeting. 

If you have already begun a session and find an unwanted attendee has joined, follow the instructions below to remove them from the session:

1. If the participants panel is not visible, click Manage Participants at the bottom of the Zoom window.
2. Next to the person you want to remove, click More.
3. From the list that appears, click Remove.

They won't be able to rejoin unless you allow participants and panelists to rejoin.

Allow participants and panelists to rejoin

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. Click Account Management > Account Settings (if you are an account administrator) or Settings (if you are an account member).
3. Navigate to the Meeting tab > In-Meeting (Basic) options and switch on the Allow removed participants toggle.

However, since not allowing participants to rejoin would result in legitimate participants not being able to rejoin a session they have accidentally left, it would be good practice to Lock a Meeting once you have removed a disruptive participant.

The Zoom Host Controls allow the host or co-host to lock the meeting. Once all your attendees have joined, you can lock the session by following the instructions below:

1. If the Participants panel is not visible, click Manage Participants at the bottom of the Zoom window.
2. At the bottom of the Participants panel, click More.
3. From the list that appears, click Lock Meeting.

Unlock the meeting following these same steps.

When a meeting is locked, no one can join, and you (the host or co-host) will NOT be alerted if anyone tries to join, so don't lock the meeting until everyone has joined. 

Please instruct participants at the beginning of the Zoom session, to call the OOT War Room at +13462487799, 477629667#  to request being added back to the locked room.

If you are scheduling a meeting where sensitive information will be discussed, it is best to leave the Enable Join Before Host (found under Meeting Options when scheduling a meeting) option off.

The Join Before Host option can be convenient for allowing others to continue with a meeting if you are not available to start it, but with this option enabled, the first person who joins the meeting will automatically be made the host and will have full control over the meeting.

The Waiting Room feature allows the host to control when each participant joins the meeting.

As the meeting host, you can admit attendees one by one or hold all attendees in the virtual waiting room and admit them together. This requires the host or cohost to be vigilant during the session to allow participants joining late into the session, but it also only allows participants to join if you specifically admit them.

1. Sign in to your account in the Zoom Web Portal and access the Settings tab. 
2. Click on the In Meeting (Advanced) option.
3. Search or scroll to find the Waiting Room option. 
4. Toggle the button next to the Waiting Room to enable this feature.
5. After enabling the Waiting Room feature, you can choose to send all participants to the Waiting Room when they join or to send only guest participants (external accounts) to the Waiting Room.

This feature, combined with requiring a password to join a Zoom session, can help prevent "Zoombombing" of your classes.

It is also recommended that you set a strong password for all meetings.

Adding a Password to a New Meeting

When scheduling a meeting, under Meeting Options, select Require meeting password, then specify a strong password (make your password at least eight characters long and use at least three of the following types of characters: lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, symbols). Participants will be asked for this password in order to join your meeting.

Adding a Password to an Existing Meeting

If you add a password to a meeting that is already scheduled, the meeting URL will change. You will need to copy the meeting invitation, and share it with participants again in whatever method you originally used (pasted into a calendar event, shared in a Canvas course or emailed).

For more information on preventing Zoombombing, please visit the following Zoom blog: How to Keep the Party Crashers from Crashing Your Zoom Event

For more information on preventing Zoombombing, please visit the following Zoom blog: How to Keep the Party Crashers from Crashing Your Zoom Event

• Zoom best practice quick guide
• Zoom online etiquette for remote students

• Network Connectivity. All faculty and staff with school issued, network- capable machines, will be provided with at least 1000Mbps to the desktop. Wireless will also be provided to all devices that support our encryption and credential methods via PEAP. Limited visitor wireless will be provided to guests of the school.

• Data Storage. Rice files and data can be stored in the space allocated to, or associated with, your Rice NetID. The following link contains details on cloud storage options and quotas, https://kb.rice.edu/70762.

  • Keep your NetID secure, do not use your Rice NetID or password for non-Rice accounts to store critical or sensitive Rice data. 
  • Keep Rice data secure, do not store critical or sensitive Rice data on external solutions because non-contractual solutions pose a significant security risk to the university.
  • The Information Security Office maintains a matrix of which classifications of data are allowed on commonly used Rice OIT Service, see Approved Services.
  • The Information Security Office provides definitions of sensitive and confidential Rice data, see Rice Policy 808.

• Port Activation and Equipment Moves. All port activation requests will require a window of at least 3 business days. Major equipment moves involving networking or computing equipment should be planned with JGS IT at least a week before the planned move.

• E-mail and Exchange. All users will receive an Exchange mailbox. Support from JGS IT will be all inclusive for all JGS-issued machinery.

• Priorities will be assigned based on the number of users affected, class and academic deadlines, and impedance to job performance, as detailed in the Helpdesk and Ed Tech Service Response Times table above.
• Support will be provided for applications offered by the University but managed by other departments or vendors (OWL Careers, Library Portal, etc.). Problems outside of JGS scope will be referred to the department in charge of managing the application.
• Personal machines not issued by or purchased with the approval of JGS IT will not be supported. There will be no support for third party hardware brought from home or purchased exclusively for personal use.
• Up to two faculty computers purchased with departmental budgets will be supported.  Charges may apply for technical support for more than two computers.
• JGS-IT recommends out of warranty systems be replaced as they are no longer covered under the service agreement with the vendor. Any out of warranty systems not replaced will require service by a 3rd party vendor. All associated costs will be charged to the related faculty or departmental budget.
• In the case of stolen JGS issued machines, JGS-IT will need the police report file number, investigating officer’s name, badge number, and phone number. File the police report as soon as possible.

• Support will be provided for applications offered by the University but managed by other departments (Owl Careers, Library Portal, etc.). Problems outside of JGS scope will be referred to the department in charge of managing the application.
• Priorities will be assigned based on the number of users affected, class and academic deadlines, and impedance to job performance, as detailed in the Helpdesk and Ed Tech Service Response Times table above.
• Rice email support on home computers or mobile devices will be provided via self-help documentation.
• Rice Business recommends the use of Windows based machines for the most seamless compatibility with most business applications. Students who prefer to use a Macintosh computer may elect to do so, but should note that some applications utilized in a few courses may not be best suited for Macintosh systems; workarounds may be possible to address these issues for Macintosh users. Please contact JGSHelp@rice.edu with any questions.
• Email accounts are disabled one year following graduation.
• Students may obtain alumni email accounts after graduation. Further information is available from the Association of Rice Alumni.
• Wireless connectivity will be provided to all devices that support our encryption and credential methods via PEAP. Home wireless setup and repair will not be supported.
• A $20 print credit will be placed in student accounts at the beginning of each school year. Print balance can be viewed at, pcounter.jgs.rice.edu.

• 7 printers are available for JGS student use.

  • Black and white printers are located in rooms 107, 215, 315, 400 and the Business Information Center. Cost per page is $0.05.
  • Color printers are located in room 215 and 315. Cost per page is $0.25.

• Print credit can be purchased by credit card online at pcounter.jgs.rice.edu. $5 minimum required.  Credit will apply to your print account immediately.  There will be no refunds of unused printing credit.
• It is the student’s responsibility to back up their own data.
• JGS-IT does not provide loaner equipment to students.
• JGS-IT only works on issues related to course software, printing and network connectivity. Non–course related software, system install/reinstall, hardware repairs, etc. are not supported.
• Students are permitted to use tablet devices in a "flat" mode, unless a faculty member directs otherwise. This allows students to take notes and access course materials. Students commonly utilize Windows Surface and Apple iPad Tablets.

• New network and email accounts
• Hardware and Software Support
• Computer Disposal
• Printer Setup
• Remote Access
• IT Security
• Technology Consultation
• Network management and support
• Technology Inventory Management/Tracking
• Educational Technology Support

Feedback is important to the Office of Technology in order to maintain customer satisfaction. If you have a complaint, praise for a job well done or suggestions on how we can improve our operation, please send them to christian.rafidi@rice.edu.

If you would like to request a laptop, please fill out this online form.

If you would like to request a Surface Pro, please fill out this online form