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Greetings nursing students,

We hope this overview will help you get started with the tech tools you'll need to begin your academic adventure at ECU and the College of Nursing.

This information sheet contains several links to various pages within the ECU website related to tools that will be important to you at ECU, including your ECU email, your ECU passphrase, and OneStop.

Your PirateID (ECU username) and Passphrase (ECU password)

You have been assigned a PirateID and initial passphrase.

PirateID (ECU username):

Your PirateID is your ECU username or userID.  This is your name on the ECU network, and you will use it to identify yourself when logging into most computing resources at ECU, including your ECU email and OneStop.  It is constructed from your initials and birth date (MMDD). Usually, it is the first letter of your first, middle, and last names, followed by your birth date in the format (MMDD).

Your PirateID (ECU username) can be found in your Admissions letter.

You can also find your PirateID (ECU username) by going to:

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-ecu/email_phone.cfm

Type your last name and first name and click "Search".  Your e-mail address will then be displayed.  Your PirateID (ECU username) is the first part of your e-mail address (excluding "@ecu.edu").

ECU ID (Banner ID):

Your ECU ID can be found in your First Year Center letter, which should arrive two weeks after your Admissions letter (see below for additional information on your ECU ID).

Your ECU ID is a unique number that you've been assigned and which identifies you as a student at East Carolina University. Your ECU ID, also known as your Banner ID (but different than your PirateID) will always be your identification within the ECU system.  It will be required for very important functions such as registering for orientation, checking financial aid, and taking placement tests for math, chemistry, and foreign languages.

Important: if you forget your ECU ID (Banner ID) or passphrase, go to:

https://pirateid.ecu.edu/

and enter your Pirate ID (ECU username), then answer your security questions to view your ECU ID (Banner ID), to change your passphrase, and/or to unlock your email account.

You can also find your ECU ID (Banner ID) in OneStop.

Passphrase:

This is just a password that you set for your accounts.

Your initial passphrase is the dollar symbol ($) followed by your ECU ID (Banner ID).

Example:

ECU ID (Banner ID): B00468952

Initial passphrase: $B00468952

Important: to use network resources such as your ECU email you must first change your initial passphrase (Piratemail) and OneStop, , and by so doing, register your PirateID.

To register and change your initial passphrase:

Go to

https://pirateid.ecu.edu

Enter your PirateID (ECU username).

In the "Old Passphrase" field, enter your initial passphrase, then enter a new passphrase and confirm it.

Important: passphrases must contain characters from three of the four following categories: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters (*, #, @, etc.). Also, your new passphrase cannot contain any part of your PirateID and must be at least eight characters in length.

You will be required to change your passphrase online at least once every 90 days.

Enter an alternative e-mail address (like a Hotmail or Yahoo account) where you can receive notifications in case you are unable to access your Piratemail account.

Select three security questions and provide answers you can remember.

This process will register your PirateID and allow you to manage it yourself online.

OneStop:

OneStop is ECU's "one stop for everything"!  You will find important university announcements here.  You can review financial aid information, register for courses, look up your grades, and access a number of useful tools.  To access OneStop, go to:

http://onestop.ecu.edu

Once in OneStop, to find you ECU ID, log in using your PirateID (ECU username) and passphrase (password).

Once logged in, choose the "Tools" tab, then select the "What is My ECU (Banner) ID" link located in the "Banner" section.  Your ECU ID will be displayed.

Your ECU email Account:

You are provided an ECU email account. Students are required to use their ECU email account for all communications related to your classes.  All email communication for your courses that originates from Blackboard, all email communication that originates from your instructors, and all official email communication that comes from the university will use your ECU email address.  You must use your ECU email address for school-related communications.  If you try to use a free email account such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail, there is a high probability that your email will be intercepted by the university email spam filters and not be received.  For more information about your email, go to:

http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/studentemail.cfm

You can check your email using the icon on the ECU website.  You can also go to:

http://piratemail.ecu.edu

IT Help Desk:

The university has an online and telephone operated help desk.  You can access the ECU IT Help Desk online at:

http://help.ecu.edu

http://ithelp.ecu.edu

The Help Desk offers technical assistance to ECU students, including software support, answers to general technology-related questions, getting connected to the university network, and more.

Regular Hours: Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

After-Hours Student Support: Sunday-Thursday (24 hours a day)

Friday-Saturday: 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

Phone Support: 252-328-9866: TollFree:1-800-340-7081

Computer Requirements:

You will need to have access to a reliable computer with an internet connection.  Students are not required to purchase a specific computer brand, although one might realize a cost savings by purchasing one of the recommended models from the preferred vendors through the ECU Dowdy Student Stores.

http://www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/studentstores/Computers/index.cfm

The Student Stores offer a significant savings to students on software, and you can buy it online.

If buying Office software for the first time, nursing students will need either Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 or Microsoft Office Pro Plus 2007 for Windows; or Microsoft Office MAC or Microsoft MAC Office 2008 Home and Student Edition for Apple. The key applications that you will need at the ECU College of Nursing are Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.  

You can access the online Student Stores shop here:

http://www.studentstores.ecu.edu/shop

ACE Student Computer Support Center:

The ACE program works with computer manufacturers to provide you discount pricing on computers and peripherals that can be purchased through the ECU Dowdy Student Stores.  With technical support offices in Rawl room 108 on east campus and room 3330 of the Health Sciences Building on west campus, ACE provides technical assistance to students with ACE and non-ACE laptops. For ECU students not enrolled in a requiring program, purchase of a computer is optional; however, any student can take advantage of the special pricing and support.

More about the ACE program at:

http://www.ecu.edu/ace

VCL (Virtual Computing Lab):

The ECU Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) allows students to use computer software either requested for a course by the instructor or the Microsoft Office, Adobe and statistical software products available to everyone.  This is a really nice resource folks, and it works well.  You can use all the Adobe software, and many other tools, from your computer at home.   Try it out:

http://www.ecu.edu/vcl