Computer System Requirements

In order to take online, hybrid and OE/OE courses, or to do computer work for on campus classes from home, students must own or have convenient access to a computer system with the following minimum qualifications:

Computer Requirements

  • A PC with a minimum of 512MB of RAM.
  • A high speed or broadband internet connection such as DSL or Cable. (A 56K modem may impede course participation.)
  • A CD or DVD drive.
  • A printer.
  • Speakers or Headphones.
  • A valid personal e-mail account.

Windows Based Software Requirements

  • Windows XP (with Service Pack 2) or higher.
  • Microsoft Word 2000 or higher. Microsoft Office 2003 or higher is recommended. (If you use another word processor or spreadsheet program they must be able to open and save files in Word 2000 or Excel 2000 format to be accepted by your instructor.*)
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or higher. (The latest version of either is recommended. Beta versions are not supported.)
  • The latest versions of Microsoft Media Player, RealPlayer, QuickTime and Adobe Flash Player may be needed to view video or listen to audio files.

Macintosh Based Software Requirements

  • OS X (10.4) or higher.
  • Microsoft Office v. X for Mac or higher. (If you use another word processor or spreadsheet program they must be able to open and save files in Word or Excel format to be accepted by your instructor.*)
  • Safari 2.0 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or higher. (The latest version of either is recommended.)
  • The latest versions of QuickTime, Flip4Mac QuickTime Plug-In, RealPlayer and Adobe Flash Player may be needed to view video or listen to audio files.
  • Some courses require Windows emulation software such as Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, or Virtual PC; a licensed copy of Windows XP w/SP2 or higher; and the appropriate Windows based software packages.

*Note: Some courses require specific software packages. Check the additional requirements below to ensure you have what is needed for a particular course.

AOL users will need to minimize AOL after connecting and use Internet Explorer or Firefox instead of the built-in browser.

Additional Requirements