About STC Partnership Agreements

• Mac and Windows Build partnerships
  • Available options
  • Hardware recommendations (Windows)
  • Hardware recommendations (Mac)
  • Terms and conditions
• IU Print Partnership
• Apply for an STC Partnership Agreement

Mac and Windows Build partnerships

The UITS Student Technology Centers (STCs) at Indiana University Bloomington and IUPUI provide students with access to a broad range of software applications in support of IU's academic mission. UITS encourages academic departments to offer student access to these applications in a departmentally funded, discipline-specific setting, wherein UITS deploys the standard STC build on departmentally owned workstations.

To participate in a hardware partnership with UITS, the partnering department agrees to adhere to standards and practices designed to ensure the success of the partnership while providing students with the same computing experience that they expect in the STCs.

Hardware recommendations (Windows)

• Processor: Intel Core i5 (or equivalent)
• RAM: 16 GB
• Storage: 500 GB SSD (1 TB recommended)
• Graphics: 512 MB video card (1 GB video recommended)

While a lesser processor, less RAM, or even traditional HDD storage might seem like a cost-effective alternative, such entry-level systems often impose unacceptable performance constraints in as little as a year or two. To minimize that risk, consider the minimum hardware specifications to be:

• Processor: Intel Core i3 (or equivalent)
• RAM: 6 GB
• Storage: 250 GB HDD

Expect this configuration to exhibit slower login times and perhaps sluggish performance with the most demanding applications, although it will likely be sufficient for many applications.

Hardware recommendations (Mac)

• Processor: Intel Core i5
• RAM: 16 GB
• Storage: 512 GB SSD

Modern Mac systems are also more difficult to open, making it difficult or impossible to add RAM or replace hard drives, so assume that the hardware the Mac comes with will be the only hardware available to it during its lifecycle.

While a lesser processor or less RAM might seem like a cost-effective alternative, such entry-level systems often impose unacceptable performance constraints in as little as a year or two. To minimize that risk, consider the minimum hardware specifications to be:

• Processor: Intel Core i3
• RAM: 8 GB
• Storage: 256 GB HDD

Expect this configuration to exhibit slower login times and perhaps sluggish performance with the most demanding applications, although it will likely be sufficient for many applications.

Terms and conditions

Use of the STC Mac and Windows Build in this setting constitutes a partnership between UITS and academic departments. These terms and conditions are subject to change as technology evolves, and continued use of the STC Build following such a change constitutes acceptance of the new terms. Partners will be made aware of changes long before they occur.

1. Because it is made available solely by the Student Technology Fee, the STC Build is only intended for student-accessible workstations and instructor stations in classrooms.
2. Partners wishing to add software to the STC Build environment can submit requests through the Software Requests System. Cosmetic changes may be requested by contacting STC Help at stchelp@iu.edu.
3. Partners agree to designate a local UITS support person who will act as a primary point of contact. The local UITS support person will be considered the authoritative source of information regarding the partnered site. Units whose designated local UITS support person is not an IU faculty or staff member must designate an IU faculty or staff sponsor or other full-time employee to act as a permanent point of contact. Additionally, partners agree to establish a suitable group username to serve as this single point of contact.
4. Partners will be asked to fund any discipline-specific application they wish to add to the STC Build. Similarly, partners may be asked to contribute to the funding of other departmentally sponsored applications if their participation affects the original requesters' use of that application. This determination will be made based upon:
   • The terms of applicable license agreements
   • Significant changes in launch statistics
   • The presence of non-standard hardware components
   • The local deployment of UITS-funded applications
5. OEM-provided applications intended to support special hardware or promote the OEM or its partners may not always be suitable for deployment in the STC Build. The partner agrees to fund licenses supporting special hardware configurations. In the event that superior alternatives are already available or can be acquired under reasonable terms, UITS may elect not to deploy such OEM-provided applications. Partners must provide UITS with a duplicate piece of specialty hardware, components, and associated software during each of the development periods to test software and hardware compliance with the standard build.
6. UITS strongly recommends that partners acquire hardware recommended by the responsible STC technical team; partners running the STC Build should plan to replace their hardware on an approved lifecycle. Changes cannot be made to the STC Build to accommodate non-standard hardware. If non-standard hardware is in use, partners are expected to provide sample hardware to remain in the possession of the STC technical teams for the duration of build deployment. The STC team will provide hardware requirements to partners before each academic year to ensure hardware and software compatibility with the STC Build; see About software at IU.
7. Partners are responsible for funding configuration upgrades. The STC technical teams may occasionally deem that a particular hardware configuration can no longer be supported. Any costs associated with hardware and software upgrades and recertification will be incurred by the partnering department.
8. Partners agree to provide and maintain a suitable connection to the IUB network. This may change from time to time to meet the changing needs of the STCs. Currently, the minimum requirement is a 100Base-T Ethernet LAN (or equivalent network connection) with sufficient bandwidth to ensure ongoing nightly maintenance of the STC Build. A wireless connection is not acceptable.
9. Partners must resolve network issues in partner locations with UITS Communications and Network Operations Services. Issues include support for network protocols, firewall settings, and anything else determined to be unsuitable.
10. Partners agree to make every effort to accommodate STC nightly maintenance procedures, including leaving the workstations on and booted to the STC Build every evening. Failure to follow this procedure may result in loss of user data, system corruption, or loss of functionality. UITS cannot be responsible for losses resulting from failure to follow nightly maintenance procedures. To protect the security of the STC environment, UITS routinely takes measures to remove from use workstations that are not obtaining updates correctly, until their issues are resolved. UITS provides daily reporting to help partners identify these issues.
11. Partners agree to handle all special software requests through the appropriate UITS process. UITS will make every effort to meet such partner requirements whenever possible; for step-by-step instructions about using the Software Request system, see Request software for the STCs or IUanyWare.
12. Partner local UITS support people take responsibility for installing or rebuilding systems as needed; the STC technical team will provide instructions and files necessary for local UITS support people to install the STC Build on partner hardware. Although partners will be able to use the STC Build, they will not be provided administrative access to the rebuild process. Perceived need for variance from this standard will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. If administrator privileges are granted to the partner local UITS support person responsible for the partner's workstations, UITS reserves the right to override these changes in order to meet its partnership obligations. In all cases, a system rebuild will restore STC defaults.
    Rebuild deadlines:

    With the "Windows as a service" model now in use by Microsoft, keeping Windows updated to the Current Branch for Business is more important than ever. In early October of each year, the IULB (IU Lab Build) of the previous academic year will no longer receive support from Microsoft. Therefore, to ensure that workstations are secure and compliant with all applicable IU IT policies, the UITS STCs must enforce the following rebuild deadlines, with no exceptions:

    • August 31: All systems should be rebuilt to the current IULB by the end of the day.
    • September 14: Email will be sent to our partner email group with a list of all systems running the previous version of the IULB.
    • September 28: All systems running the previous version of the IULB will begin displaying a message to all users that the system is out of date.
    • October 12: All systems running the previous version of the IULB will no longer allow logons.
13. While a Printing Partnership is not required with a software partnership, it will provide customers with a consistent printing environment with all of the privileges and responsibilities associated with the STC Printing Services. In lieu of such a partnership, the partnering department is expected to provide a suitable network-accessible printing environment using tools consistent with the STC model.
14. This partnership agreement addresses a number of contingencies, but circumstances may require unique partnership arrangements. The STC Build Partnership Agreement may be modified to reflect those changes, which can be applied broadly. Interested departments can contact STC Help at stchelp@iu.edu for more information.
15. All partners must build their systems to the current academic year. A new STC Build will be provided each year before the beginning of the fall semester. Partners not migrated to the new build within this timeframe will be subject to interruption of service.

Also, see About STC Software Sponsorship Agreements.

IU Print Partnership

Use of STC printing resources constitutes a partnership between UITS and academic departments:

1. Partners must provide a suitable Ethernet connection to the IUB network. As private IP addresses are required for printing, partners are responsible for obtaining these addresses; see Request a private IP address.
2. The STC printing system is intended primarily for student use. It is also available for use by faculty and staff, library patrons, and conference participants with a conference account. Non-students must have a pre-paid printing allotment. This service is not intended for internal departmental use.
3. Partners wishing to use a print release station must provide a workstation capable of using the STC Build that meets minimum hardware requirements, as outlined by the Windows Build partnership.
4. Partners agree to designate a local UITS support person to act as a primary point of contact. The local UITS support person will be considered the authoritative source of information regarding the partnered site. Units whose designated local UITS support person is not an IU faculty or staff member must designate an IU faculty or staff sponsor or other full-time employee to act as a permanent point of contact. If a software partnership is in place, partners may designate the same contact.
5. Partners agree to establish a suitable group username to serve as a single point of contact. If a software partnership is in place, partners may use the same group username.
6. Partners agree to provide these printers without expectation of compensation from the STCs for consumables or over-quota printing.
7. Partners agree to fund the cost of all hardware and maintenance costs, as well as all lifecycle replacement costs for printers and release stations. Partners are also responsible for all printing consumable costs.
8. Partners will be expected to replace their printers and hardware on, at most, a four-year lifecycle. Partners entering into a hardware partnership using outdated printers and workstations will be urged to upgrade their hardware at the earliest opportunity. UITS is not responsible for substandard performance due to outdated hardware.

Apply for an STC Partnership Agreement

To apply for an STC Partnership Agreement, contact STC Help at stchelp@iu.edu.