In the event that routine work or academic functions are disrupted at APU, you may find it necessary to work from off campus. APU offers a number of services that can help eligible staff and faculty work productively from home or elsewhere.
Also see our Working From Home Guidelines article.
Employee Tips for Working From Off Campus
Using a Personal Computer
IMT recommends using an APU issued computer whenever possible. However, if you are only using web services like home.apu.edu, Canvas, and Gmail a personal computer is fine. Do not store any APU data on a personal device. Keep everything in cloud services.
- If you work with APU data / download files / process data, or work with the L and M drives you will need to request an APU laptop through the Telecommuting Laptop Request Form and use VPN.
- Faculty, we have a virtual computer lab for students with academic software normally accessed from the computer labs and libraries on campus.
Requesting an APU Laptop
If you need to request an APU laptop to assist in working from home, please fill out the Telecommuting Laptop Request Form. This assumes you have already filled out the HR Total Access Interim Telecommuting Request.
Requesting Office Equipment
Via coordination and approval from your supervisor, various technology and furniture may be used at home. For example: office chair and/or computer monitor. Note: Your supervisor must approve request prior to filling out the following form: APU Remote Employee's Office Equipment Request Form
Home Internet Issues?
It can be very frustrating dealing with slow home internet, especially when remote for your job or classes. While IMT cannot assist with all the variables that may be causing you to have glitches with video, audio or file transfers, we do have some helpful Tips for Home Internet Performance.
Email, Files, Chat, & Video Conferencing
Use the following links to access your APU Gmail, Google Drive, Team Drive and calendar.
- Read this guide on "Netiquette" for tips on proper virtual meeting etiquette
- Check out this guide for a comprehensive comparison of our video conferencing services.
- Google Hangouts Chat - An online communication app for individuals and teams.
- Google Hangouts Meet - For easy to join video calls already integrated into Google Calendar
- Some APU faculty and staff use services such as Zoom. For more instruction, check out Zoom’s 1-minute quickstart videos or their more in-depth video tutorials & trainings.
Phone Services
Regular Voicemail Access
There are a couple options for accessing your calls and voicemail. Learn how to access your voicemail from anywhere in the Accessing the Voicemail System guide.
Voicemail-to-Email
Your APU voicemail is automatically setup to send a copy of your voicemail to your APU Gmail. If you are not receiving your voicemail in your APU email, please contact the IMT Support Center for assistance.
Call Forwarding
Follow these instructions to forward your APU Cisco phone to an external phone number (cell phone).
Internet Phone Service (Dialpad)
Would you prefer not to forward your work extension to your cell phone? Would you like to make calls for work but not give out your personal cell phone number? Dialpad is a cloud-based phone service that includes a real phone number, voicemail, texting capability and works from a web browser or your smartphone. Please submit the Dialpad Access Request Form to request access to this service.
Administrative Systems
Visit home.apu.edu to view student, financial and other APU related information. APU Mobile applications are also available. HR Total Access is the official starting place for employee related information.
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Please note that most APU and cloud resources, such as Canvas, APU Gmail, Google Drive, HR Total Access, and Home do not require the use of VPN.
The primary service that does require the use of VPN is APU shared network drives (L: and M: drives). Note: VPN is only permitted from APU issued laptops.
You must have the VPN enabled before proceeding to map drives.
Mapping Network Drives
1. Personal and Departmental File Shares (L and M drives) are only available on the APU network. If you are working remote you will need to ensure you are connected via VPN before attempting to connect.
2. How to Map Drives AFTER you have successfully established a VPN connection:
Mapping a Network Drive - Apple Mac
Mapping a Network Drive - Windows
Note: though mapping network drives is possible from a Chromebook, we do not presently have VPN available for Chromebook devices.
Suggestion: Google Shared Drives
Google Drive and Shared Drives are available without VPN, so please take time to reassess your current work flow to determine if it would be beneficial for your team to being working on Google Drive. Shared Drives are available for team based work. We have an Google Shared Drives Article to help you get started.
E-Signature (Hellosign)
HelloSign is an e-signature service that enables documents and simple forms to be signed electronically, bypassing the need for printing documents or forms to sign traditionally. Signed documents can be retrieved in your email, Google Drive or through the HelloSign user interface.
If you are interested in this service:
1. Talk to your department admin, as they may already have a HelloSign account that can send out an unlimited number of documents for signature. Otherwise visit our HelloSign Information Page, which includes instructions for requesting a license.
2. You can also simply sign in with your APU Google account or use the Google Docs Add-On to send out 3 documents for signature a month without any special set up.
If you have a need greater than this please contact support@apu.edu or call x5050. A member from the IMT Productivity Solutions team will contact you to discuss your HelloSign needs in more detail.
IMT Service Catalog
For a list of IMT services, please visit the new IMT Service Catalog for additional information.
Got more Tips?
As we learn from each other, if you have more tips or ideas please use the comments below to provide suggestions. Please do so with grace and kindness.
If you want to connect your Mac to an iPad to use as a second monitor, here are the steps:
Wake up the iPad
Open the Displays section of the System Preferences app
Choose your iPad from the AirPlay Display sub-menu.
Your iPad will appear as a full-fledged second monitor, which you can position as you like and use to give yourself a bit more space to work. (This is Catalina’s new Sidecar feature, and it works really well. It’ll work wirelessly, but if you plug your iPad in to your Mac, your iPad’s battery won’t run down.)
Of course, that iPad needs to be positioned in a stable place next to your Mac. If you’ve got Apple’s Smart Cover or another, similar case, you can fold the cover around back and use it as a stand to prop your iPad up.
This feature works great when using the Whiteboard feature in Zoom. You can actually draw on your tablet to demonstrate to students.
Super helpful! Thanks Elaine.