Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Iowa State IT security policies?

View the IT Security Policies

What kind of computer should I buy?

All incoming CVM students are required to purchase a tablet PC. Read more about our mobile computer program and learn how to purchase, what to get, and why it is important.

Where do I buy computers on campus, software, peripherals, and computer add-ons?

Any computer, software, or peripheral purchase on university or research funds must be purchased and inventoried through the CVM IT office. If you have questions, please contact the Director of IT, Steven Kovarik.

Purchase and support policy for computers, software, and peripheral components:

Download the Purchase and Support Policy for Computers

Click here for the purchase procedure for computers and network-dependent items

How can I get support after hours?

After-hours IT emergency help desk 294-4000

How do I set up my Iowa State email?

Students email

Faculty/Staff

Forwarding email: Students via Student email

Forwarding email: Faculty via Outlook

Email Best Practices

How do I backup my computer?

The college offers a backup service called Carbonite. Carbonite will keep your computer backed up in real-time, work both on and off-campus (for laptop users), and can email you if your backup is not working. For pricing and more details, please contact computer support at 294-0384 or email cvmsupport@iastate.edu.

What is the policy for computer and peripheral disposal? Leaving the University?

Equipment Policy

4th Year Information

Cybox - Students

If you are a student, you can keep your CyBox account for life. After you leave ISU, your CyBox account will be converted to a Box.com account with a reduced storage quota of 50GB. If you are storing more than 50GB in CyBox, this data will remain intact after your account converts from CyBox to Box.com. However, you will be unable to add new data to this Box.com account until you 1) free up space in the account to fall below the 50GB quota, or 2) migrate to a paid Box.com account with a sufficient quota.

To prepare to convert your CyBox account to a Box.com account, log in to your CyBox account and set a secondary, non-ISU email address. The semester following your departure from ISU, we will automatically change your account to log in with your non-ISU email address. At that time, you will receive an email at your secondary email address with instructions on how to access your account. However, if you do not set a secondary email address, your account will be deactivated and deleted upon your departure from the University, so be sure to set your secondary email account.

  1. Login to CyBox.
  2. Click the "gear" in the top right corner next to your name.
  3. Click Account Settings.
  4. Under the heading "Login and Email Addresses", select Add more emails.
  5. Enter your non-ISU email address into the box that appears.
  6. Click Save.

Note: If you already have another Box account set up with this email address, you will receive an error and need to choose a separate email address.

If you have any questions, please contact the Solution Center at 515-294-4000, solution@iastate.edu, or stop by in person in 192 Parks Library.

Student email - Students - Leaving Iowa State

After you graduate or leave Iowa State, your email account will expire. Before that, you can make a copy of your emails using Google Takeout https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout.

OneDrive - Students - Leaving Iowa State

You will have access to all of your Microsoft applications as long as your account is active. When you leave the University, your account will stay active for six months and then will be suspended this will be when your access to OneDrive will be cut off.