Accessing university resources off-campus

Faculty, researchers, staff and students can plan ahead to minimize disruption to work and learning activities in the event that full access to campus is limited. There are many options to work and learn remotely - some are helpful to set up from campus before being used so please read these guidelines to help with your preparations.

When connecting from off-campus, the Office of Information Technology offers several remote connect options based on your needs:

All faculty, staff and students have full access to the Microsoft 365 suite of products for no additional cost either online or installed on 5 PCs or Macs, tablets (Windows, iPad and Android), and phones. Microsoft 365 includes:

  • Outlook Email
  • Word
  • PowerPoint
  • Excel
  • OneNote
  • Planner
  • OneDrive for Business
  • Teams

Download your software choices by clicking on the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner once you've logged in to Microsoft 365. Quick access instructions are available on our Microsoft 365 webpage.

Beginning May 26, faculty, students and staff will need to authenticate to Microsoft 365 apps - including email - using Duo, our multi-factor authentication app. More information about multi-factor authentication with Microsoft 365 and Outlook from off-campus are available on our CU Secure/MFA webpage.

Tips about Microsoft 365 products

Access university email using Outlook, share documents using OneDrive, collaborate on projects and learning using Teams, and more from your home internet connection. 

  • Check university email from your mobile device by installing Microsoft Outlook. Download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play, if you haven't already. More information and links to Microsoft resources for setting up email on your individual devices is available on the OIT Outlook webpage. 
  • OneDrive for Business allows you to continue to work on, store, protect and share your work with others. Your OneDrive documents become digital files stored on the Cloud allowing you to get to them from anywhere on all your devices. Get started with OneDrive. 
  • Get started with Teams and see what many of your colleagues are already using to meet online, have chat conversations, share files, and integrate other apps such as Trello, Wiki, and Websites. Teams allows you to work remotely without feeling remote!
  • Microsoft has created a Microsoft 365 Training Center to learn the basics for all the applications that faculty, staff and students have access to through the university. Additional training and tutorials for Microsoft apps including Outlook, OneNote, and PowerPoint are available here.

The university's VPN provides full connectivity to resources with the GlobalProtect VPN service. Using the VPN will allow you to directly connect to the university network as if you were on campus. Please note that most resources, such as Office 365 including Outlook email and Teams, Zoom, and Canvas, don't require the use of VPN.

Important to know: Multi-factor authentication with Duo is required to safely use the VPN. Registration and installation of Duo will need to be completed prior to using VPN. In addition, you will need to download the GlobalProtect VPN client for your selected device. 

Links to download the applications and instructions for connecting are available on the OIT VPN and Remote Access webpage. Here are some best practices:

  • Be sure to install and register for Duo first. The Duo app will turn your mobile phone, iPad, tablet or landline into a multi-factor authenticator. OIT highly recommends that you install Duo on your mobile phone for the most complete options to authenticate. 
  • Download and install the GlobalProtect option based on the device that you want to use. Visit the remote access webpage and scroll to the download options and installation instructions. 
  • Because of current capacity limitations, please only connect to the VPN when using a service that requires VPN and be sure to disconnect from the VPN when you are no longer using that service.

You can access university resources, including your regular work desktop, shared internal files, and folders by using the full downloadable VMware Horizon Client or the Horizon web client through your preferred browser. This remote option provides full connectivity to university resources, should you need that access, via a virtual windows desktop.

Please note that you will be prompted for multi-factor authentication through Duo during login to the VMWare Horizon environment. Registration and installation of Duo will need to be completed prior to usage. Instructions for using Duo with VMware Horizon are available here.

  • You can connect to either your full Windows 10 desktop or launch individual applications published for you
  • We encourage you to use individual applications rather than the full Windows 10 desktop for better performance and a seamless experience 
  • To ensure maximum capacity and availability for other faculty and staff, please be sure to close applications and disconnect from the VMWare Horizon environment after use to free up resources

Software and Tools

Best practices for using Zoom, installing Duo, accessing your office phone and work computer, using Teams and OneDrive. Check out how to access the university's collaborative tools to work away from campus. 

Visit software and tools

Additional University Resources

Read more about Cyber Security and COVID-19, HIPAA protections, and get links to helpful campus resources. 

Visit additional resources

Have Questions?

The OIT Service Desk is your main point of contact for technology related questions. If you need help with specific school, college or departmental resources, contact your local IT support person. 

Contact the OIT Service Desk team