Information Technology

Office of Information Technology
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5206 USA
(269) 387-5430

Information for Students

The Office of Information Technology provides data, video and voice services to the Western Michigan University community. If you have questions, please call the number provided next to each of the following services.

 Acceptable use of computing resources | (269) 387-4357

  • Policies: Students are required to follow the University's policy on acceptable use of computing resources. Violation of the policy can result in action through the student judiciary and can lead to having online access revoked.
  • File sharing: Some forms of file sharing—illegally downloading and sharing MP3 files of popular music, for example—violate copyright. It is important for all users of the University's systems to understand their responsibilities and the University's responsibilities regarding copyright.
  • P2P file-sharing education: The P2P file-sharing education program sends email notifications when the system sees file sharing occurring. 

Access online services | (269) 387-4357

  • Bronco NetID: Each student receives a Bronco NetID and password. The Bronco NetID must be activated before it can be used. This is done on the GoWMU login page. If you've forgotten your Bronco NetID, you may call the Help Desk at (269) 387-4357.
  • GoWMU: (gowmu.wmich.edu) is where most online services are available. You can get to campus and individual announcements, registration, grades, transcripts, class roster, account and financial aid information, Elearning, email and much more. Log in to GoWMU using your Bronco NetID and password. Never give your password to anyone, including WMU staff, as someone could make detrimental changes to your personal information.

Alumni Online Services

As an alumni of Western Michigan University you will be able to retain access to your WMU Mail, Calendar and People (contacts) as long as you continue to to make the annual required password change. Read more.

Cable television | (269) 387-4357

  • Basic cable: is provided at no charge in WMU residence halls and apartments. 

Collaboration | (269) 387-4357

  • Google Apps for Education: Cloud-based, online collaboration tools from Google's suite of applications.
  • Office 365 ProPlus: Desktop versions of Microsoft Office provided at no cost to current WMU students, faculty and staff for personal use.
  • W-Exchange: For email, chat, file sharing and more with projects and collaboration groups.
  • Webex: Provides; web conferencing, personal meeting rooms, screen sharing, interactive training environments, large-scale online events, and integration with W-Exchange email.

Computing

  • Computer labs: The main computer labs on campus are located in the Bernhard Center and the University Computing Center. Additional labs are operated by academic colleges and departments and often have specialized software for specific disciplines. A Bronco ID card is required to use all computing facilities.
  • Printing: Printing is available in all computer labs on campus. 
  • Online IT security education for students: The Office of Information Technology has created an online education course that is available to all WMU students by way of GoWMU > My Self Serve > IT Security Education For Students. All students should take this course. WMU student employees are required to.

Email | (269) 387-4357, option 1

  • Email: All WMU students have an email account that can be accessed through GoWMU or by going directly to wexchange.wmich.edu and using their bronconetid at wmich.edu to login, where bronconetid is the student's Bronco NetID. Deleted email will be held in the Deleted items folder for 90 days before moving to the recover deleted items folder for an additional 30 days. After that they will be removed from the system and not retrievable.See wmich.edu/wexchange.
  • Email address: A WMU email address is created when the Bronco NetID is created. This email address is in the format of firstname.middleinitial.lastname at wmich.edu. It is the email address that all official mailings from WMU will be sent, so be sure to check it often. Non-wmich.edu addresses for WMU correspondence should not be used since others may have marked wmich.edu messages as spam and their ISP may be blocking emails sent by WMU and important correspondence may not be received. 
  • Alumni email: Alumni email will continue indefinitely as long as the alumnus continues to make the required annual password change. Notifications are sent prior to password expiration. If the password is not changed, an additional 30 day notice is sent. At the end of that time, if no response has been made, the account will be deprovisioned and the mailbox and all messages will be removed from the system and not recoverable.

Get connected | (269) 387-4357

  • Anti-virus: All computers being connected to the University's network should have anti-virus software installed and all vendor-supplied security patches applied for the operating system. For student computers, WMU recommends and supports products that are available for personal use as a free download. 
  • ResNet: All rooms are connected to ResNet, the high-speed residential computing network at WMU. The charge for this service is billed to each student's WMU account. A brochure will be available to assist with the connection process. It will be handed out in the residence halls during move-in and also available from the Help Desk, located on the second floor of the University Computing Center.
  • Wireless: is available all over campus, both inside and outside. Use WMU Secure wireless for encrypted wireless connections. See also Wireless Best Practices.
  • More information

Get help | (269) 387-4357

  • Help Desk: Information technology provides a computing Help Desk that is available for both walk-in and phone-in services. They are located on the second floor of the University Computing Center and can be reached via email to @email, by phone to (269) 387-4357. Many self-help tutorials are available on the Help Desk website.

Phone | (269) 387-4357

  • Basic phone service (unlimited campus and local calls) is provided at no charge in WMU residence halls. 

ResNet | (269) 387-4357

  • ResNet is the name of WMU's residential network available in all residence halls and WMU apartments.

Student IT jobs 

  • IT jobs for students: The Office of Information Technology hires many students every semester in all types of jobs ranging from office work to technical computing support.

Web pages

  • Personal webpages for students are no longer provided. Students should explore their options in Google Sites or other web services. If access to homepages is required for coursework, the faculty member requiring it will provide it..

 Wireless | (269) 387-4357

  • Wireless is available throughout campus, both inside of most buildings and all around the grounds. Besides the wired jacks in each room, wireless is also available at Western View apartments and in the residence halls (see also ResNet).
  • eduroam is an international roaming service that provides secure networking access when visiting other institutions that are also members. 
  • WMU Guest network allows WMU students, faculty and staff to grant 18 hours of access, per day, to their campus visitors.