About ACC

Staff Directory
Department Liaisons
Public Computing Labs

Academic Computing Center (ACC)

Computers are an integral part of a Haverford education. All faculty and students have email accounts, space to post web pages and high-speed network access available from their offices and dorm rooms. Many courses mix on-line discussion groups, web resources, and other electronic resources with traditional lectures, in-class discussions and printed materials for a full and varied learning environment.

The Academic Computing Center, located in Stokes 204, supports faculty, students and academic staff in the use of computer technology for teaching, research, and learning.  Through a combination of faculty liaisons, helpdesk staff, and Residential Computing Consultants (RCC’s), the ACC provides instructional technology and desktop support.  The ACC works closely with the library, Administrative Computing, and Networking and Systems, which maintains the campus network, email and web services. 

Although there is no requirement for students to buy computing equipment, 96% of Haverford students have their own computers. Those who choose to use equipment in one of the public computing labs have access to a generous array of resources available free of charge. Located in Roberts Hall, the Integrated Natural Science Center (INSC), the Haverford College Apartments, and Magill Library, these public labs contain a mix of Macintosh and Windows computers configured with high-speed internet access and all ACC supported software. A Multimedia Lab in Roberts Hall provides students with access to specialized equipment for creating and editing digitized images, sound and video. In addition, the lab in the INSC has specialized scientific software. All of the public computing labs are available 24/7 with student one card access; however, labs in the libraries are open only during regular library hours. Additional public computing equipment is available in the Science Library, the Language Learning Center and departmental labs in Biology, Chemistry, Math/Computer Science, Physics/Astronomy, and Psychology, for students taking classes in those disciplines. 

An Ethernet network provides 10 or 100 megabit service directly to all offices, classrooms, labs, and dorms. Students living on campus can access the network free of charge, provided they own the necessary hardware. Faculty and students living off campus are able to access the network from their homes and utilize the same networked resources. All students can access the network from the public computing labs. Academic Computing supports a standard suite of software for email, web browsing, word processing, virus protection and other standard needs.

A significant portion of this software is free or site licensed by Haverford and may be used on computers connected to the campus network in offices and dorms. The virus protection software we provide is required for all users on Haverford’s network. The ACC web site lists these supported software packages and has links to documentation for many of these applications. In addition, students living in the dorms may receive free computing support from an RCC living in or near their dorm. ACC also maintains a walk-in Helpdesk where members of the Haverford community can bring their systems or get extra help on various computer issues. Details of ACC’s support policy are available on the website.

Many of the services provided by ACC are available through the work of our Student Assistants. In addition to working as RCCs, students staff the helpdesk, install software, help design and maintain web pages, and work with faculty on various projects. All students are welcome to apply to be Student Assistants. In addition to an hourly salary, these students obtain extensive computer training.

The Academic Computing Center provides a variety of other services that may be of interest.

ACC Office:

Academic Computing Center
Stokes Hall, room 204
Haverford College
370 Lancaster Ave.
Haverford, PA 19041