Technical Requirements

The "Recommended Requirements" for Online Courses are meant to serve as a guideline for what is acceptable to access most online courses using technology. Check the specific requirements for the online class you intend to take.

Student Technical Requirements

All online courses require access to the Internet.  Broadband (Cable, DSL, or Wireless) strongly recommended. Students must have their own Internet Service Provider, or may access the courses by using the Campus Computer Lab.

The student should be proficient in the following:

• using a web browser
• sending and receiving email
• using a word processing program
• sending attachments via email (in Word or other formats)
• downloading software and/or documents

If you are buying a new computer: Recommended PC Hardware Requirements

• Desktop or Laptop with multi-core processor
• Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista Operating System
• 1 gigabyte RAM (memory) minimum
• LCD Monitor - SVGA Graphics 1024x768 resolution or higher
• PCIe Video card with minimum 128 MB Graphics Memory
• Ethernet (100 Mbps) and/or wireless (802.11 b/g)
• CD-R/W, DVD-R/W or USB mass-storage device
• 80 GB SATA or larger hard drive
• Sound card and speakers

Recommended Macintosh Hardware Requirements

• Desktop or Laptop with 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better
• Macintosh OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
• 1 gigabyte RAM (memory) minimum
• LCD Monitor SVGA Graphics 1280 x 1024 resolution or higher
• PCIe Video card with minimum 128 MB Graphics Memory
• Ethernet (100 Mbps) and/or wireless (802.11 b/g)
• CD-R/W, DVD-R/W or USB mass-storage device
• 160 GB SATA or larger hard drive
• Sound card and speakers

If you already have a computer: Minimum Recommended PC Requirements

• Desktop with 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 processor or Laptop with 1.4 GHz Celeron processor
• Windows 2000 Operating System or higher
• 512MB RAM – 10/100 Network Card
• CRT or LCD Monitor - SVGA Graphics 800 x 600 resolution or higher
• AGP, PCI, or Integrated Video card with minimum 32MB Graphics Memory
• 56kbps modem
• CD-ROM, Zip, 3.5” Floppy, or USB mass-storage device
• 20 GB Hard Drive

Minimum Recommended Macintosh Requirements

• Desktop or Laptop with G4 500 MHz processor or faster
• Macintosh OS 9 or newer operating system
• 512MB RAM
• 56kbps modem - 10/100 Network Card
• Sound card and speakers
• 56kbps modem
• CD-ROM, ZIP or USB mass-storage device

Compatible Browsers

Browser settings for Internet Explorer 7 

For users who have recently installed Internet Explorer 7, there are a few settings in the new browser to be aware of. 
It is possible that IE 7 will install with a higher security setting than with IE 6, which may restrict access to some systems.

To check security settings go to Tools>Internet Options>Security. In this tab there is a vertical slider much like a volume bar. (If there is no slider, press the default level button.) This slider should be set no higher than medium.

In addition, another feature of the heightened security in IE7 is a file download blocker.  This feature, much like the popup blocker, will prompt the user with a white or gold bar at the top of the browser window to confirm that the user does indeed want to download the file.