FAQs

DCS unlocks the classroom systems for all Rutgers courses according to the class schedule. If your classroom has changed within one week of the next class meeting, please contact us so that we can ensure your class change is reflected on our schedule. Please also contact us if you need the technology open for any last minute review sessions or exams. Non-class use of the technology can be requested by visiting the Request Equipment page.

Contact us! If you are interesting in enhancing your classroom experience through technology, let us know. We are always on the look out for faculty we can partner with to try out new classroom technology. You can also browse the articles in our Classroom Technology Blog.

Please contact Rutgers University Facilities. You may fill out an online Service Request Form or reach the call center at 848-445-1234.  

Please contact Rutgers Facilities for any non-technology, physical issues with classrooms. This includes issues relating to chalk, clocks, lighting, furniture and room or building openings. You may fill out an online Service Request Form or reach the call center at 848-445-1234.   

If you have a scheduled class and are locked out of a classroom or building, please call University Public Safety at 732-932-7211.

If DCS staff are given are discover personal items left behind in classrooms, we give them to the information desk at the nearest Student Center. You can inquire about a lost items by using the Student Centers lost and found page.

University Public Safety also administers lost and found items. Please visit their Lost & Found page for more information.

Yes. DCS can make the technology currently in our classrooms available for non-class use. When available, DCS can also provide in-room support at a fee. Please view our Request Equipment page for more information. Note that a Rutgers NetId is required to use the Digital Classroom Podium.

DCS provides support for the general purpose classrooms on the New Brunswick campuses and the learning spaces of the Office of the New Brunswick Chancellor. This includes user support, installations, and repair work. To check if a classroom is supported by DCS, please visit our Find a Classroom page. For non-DCS rooms, support should be coordinated by the department that controls the room, using Rutgers Facilities or outside vendors.    

Rooms with the Digital Classroom Podium include computers. In these rooms, you can assess your presentation by bringing it on a USB drive or accessing it over the Internet. The Digital Classroom Podium also has VGA and HDMI cables which allow instructors to connect their laptop to the data projector. In any room that does not have a Digital Classroom Podium but does have a data projector, instructors may connect their laptop to the projector using the VGA cable. To see what equipment your classroom has, please visit the Find a Classroom page.

Yes. While manufacturers have stopped producing stand alone VCRs and will cease making DVD/VCR combo units in the near future, DCS has stockpiled a back up supply of VCRs. We will continue to use this supply to replace system VCRs that fail and to deliver VCRs to classrooms that do not have one. However, at some point in the future we will exhaust our supply. As a result, new classroom installations do not include VCRs. Therefore, we encourage faculty to consider obtaining new media in DVD or other digital formats and to convert analog media to a digital formats. The Media Center offers a DVD clipping service which converts clips from video tape to DVD. Imaging Services at the Alexander Library offers an analog to digital reformatting service.

DCS systems include VGA cables which enable instructors to connect their laptop to classroom data projectors. If your computer has a VGA port, you do not need to bring an adapter. A VGA port has three rows of five holes each. If your computer does not have a VGA port, you will need to provide a VGA adapter, also known as a “dongle.” DCS is in the process of adding HDMI inputs to our classrooms. If you are in a room with a HDMI input, you can connect HDMI-capable laptops by bringing a HDMI cable and connecting it to the port. If your laptop does not have a HDMI port, you can also purchase a HDMI adapter. To determine if your classroom has a data projector, please search for your room on the Find a Classroom page. To see if your classroom has a HDMI input, click on the "Classroom Features" tab and check the "Additional Features" listed. For information about Apple VGA adapters, view our Apple Adapter Cheat Sheet.

You can verify that your room is supported by DCS and confirm the technology it contains by searching for the room on our Find a Classroom page. If you need equipment for a course meeting and you room does not contain that technology, please visit the Request Equipment page. DCS will deliver equipment for a maximum of four course meetings. If you need equipment for more than four course meetings, you may request a semester loan. If you would like additional equipment for a non-course related event, please visit the Request Equipment page. If you would like to request a different classroom, please contact Academic Scheduling and Instructional Space.   

First, make sure the system is not just asleep. If you are using a Digital Classroom Podium, press the space bar. If you are still unable to start the system, call the Help Desk. Our staff can assist you over the phone or send someone to your classroom.  

No. Connecting a laptop to a projector via a VGA or HDMI cable is similar to connecting it to a monitor or any other display device. The laptop does not connect to the Internet or any network to project.

Any user information or files saved to the computer are erased overnight. As a result, you should upload any files you wish to save to the web or a flash drive. Before being erased, only users with your login can view this information.

Yes. The classroom computer is a Mac Mini running the Mac version of PowerPoint. The Mac version of PowerPoint can open presentations built on Windows machine. There are some fonts that are available in Windows that are not available in Mac. If you use one of these fonts, a similar font will be used when presenting in Mac. Similarly, if you use a transition that is not available in Mac, there will not be a transition during the slide show. Additionally, if your presentation uses a Windows-only format of video or audio, it will not open on the classroom computer. Please contact DCS with any specific questions about your PowerPoint presentation.

Yes, provided you have a Netflix account.

DCS has the ability to remotely view and control classroom computers in order to support faculty using them. However we will not connect to a computer that is scheduled for use without first asking for your permission.

Yes. You need to log in to the computer in order to access Rutgers Room Control. You can then use Room Control to turn on the projector and switch it to display the image from your portable device.

If you are unable to connect to the Internet in a DCS classroom or are unable to log in to a Digital Classroom Podium, please call the DCS Help Desk. The Office of Information Technology operates the wired, RUWireless and RUWireless Secure networks that are available in most DCS classrooms and we will work with them to address network-related issues. For information about how to connect to these wireless networks, please visit the RUWireless page.  For questions relating to email, NetIDs, Sakai, and more – please contact the New Brunswick Computing Services Help Desk. Please note that, whenever possible, we encourage faculty to bring presentations on USB drives to use as back up during network outages.

A NetID is required to log into the Digital Classroom Podium and access the Internet in all DCS rooms. NetIDs are also required to access email, Sakai, and other online tools. Guests of Rutgers who need NetIDs to conduct University business, may request a Guest Net ID by filling out an Office of Information Technology online application. If you need immediate access to a Digital Classroom Podium, please contact the Help Desk for a guest DCP log in. We can provide you with a temporary log in that will enable you to use the podium.  However, due to security concerns, the log in will not provide access the Internet.

Guests of Rutgers who need NetIDs to conduct University business, may request a Guest Net ID by filling out an Office of Information Technology online application. Anyone with a NetID can create temporary guest logins for RUWireless, which grants access to the Internet over WiFi, by logging into RGAMS. Guests that need to use the Digital Classroom Podium may contact DCS for a guest login. Visiting members of participating institutions of higher education can log in to RUWireless using Eduroam. For more information on using Eduroam at Rutgers, please visit OIT's Eduroam page.