Making plans for how to work during a possible H1N1 epidemic on campus? Thinking about how to reduce your car's carbon emissions a day or two a week? Or maybe you've been asked to work from home to enhance efficiency or office space use. This year more than ever there are good reasons to telecommute to work. According to NC State’s Human Resources,  “Full-time or part-time employees with probationary, permanent, trainee, or time-limited appointments are eligible to telework with supervisory approval.”

OIT offers a number of services that can help eligible staff and faculty work productively from home or elsewhere. For quick links, see  Client Solutions' Remote Access. Here are some additional tools and tips:

• Virtual Private Network Service (VPN): If you need to connect to the campus data network from home to do your work, it is important to have a secure connection. A VPN provides a remote connection that allows you to appear as though you are working directly on the campus network. Go to the  SSL VPN pages  for more information, instructions and downloads.
• Antivirus software for home computers: Computers that connect to the campus network must have university-approved antivirus program installed and kept up-to-date. Visit Antivirus Resources to down-load your free protection.
• Web access to your work e-mail and calendar services: Log in to your WolfWise account at gwweb.ncsu.edu; if you use Unity (Cyrus) e-mail, log in at webmail.ncsu.edu.
• Web access to business and student data: If you have the appropriate access privileges, log in to the MyPack Portal at mypack.ncsu.edu for job-related applications such as Financials and the Student Information System. It’s not just for student and employee self-services. Reminder! Avoid unnecessary frustration: Make a note of the Web addresses you use most at work or copy your bookmarks to your home Web browser.
• Remote access to your desktop: Consult your local IT support person if you need to remotely access other files or campus resources, including your office computer. See also
  • Connect  to campus PCs Using Remote Desktop
  • Enabling Remote Desktop
  • Managed Desktop Novell Netstorage
  • WebDrive FTP software - Available upon request to all students, faculty and staff for university use

• Virtual Computing Lab (VCL): With a broadband Internet connection, you can use a lab computer and many high-end applications from home. Visit the VCL for information.
• Instant messaging: GWIM, AIM and XMPP (used by Jabber and Google Chat) are among the instant messaging protocols used by many NC State staff and faculty. Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messaging client that allows you to use all of your IM accounts at once, whether you are at home or at work. See Instant Messaging with Gaim (Pidgin) for information and instructions.
• Work phone forwarding: For instructions on how to forward a campus IP phone to an off-campus number, see IP phone features. To forward campus analog phones, pick up your office phone receiver and listen for dial tone, dial 10#, listen for special tone, dial the target number, wait for the confirmation tone and hang up. To cancel the forward, dial 11#. More instructions are on page 6 of the printed Campus Directory.
• Voicemail services: You can check your office voicemail from anywhere; see Voicemail - Retrieving Messages for instructions.

To replace face to face meetings, NC State’s DELTA offers a free Web conferencing service that can be used for university business as well as course-related work. Skype and Google Talk offer desktop voice and video teleconferencing services that work with both Windows and the Macintosh computers; the calls are free when participants use the same Skype or Google Talk software.

DELTA and the Office of Faculty Development have  developed  a Web site to help faculty plan for H1N1 flu's impact on their courses.

For more information about NC State’s telecommuting procedures, visit the HR website.

For more information about NC State’s pandemic planning, see Environmental Health and Safety's H1N1 Flu/Pandemic Flu information.