1. Disabled Student Services - Students requiring special assistance or TDD, please contact the Assistant Dean of Students at (540) 231-3787 at the Virginia Tech Dean of Students Office, Brodie Hall [TDD = (540) 231-8718].

2. Emergency Number - DIAL 911 TO CALL VIRGINIA TECH POLICE/EMERGENCY.

3. Campus Operator - From on-campus, dial 0 or 1-6000. From off-campus, dial 231-6000.

4. Time and Temperature Number - Dial 4-8463 (4 TIME) for time and temperature information.

5. Inclement Weather Number - For inclement weather instructions, dial 1-6668. From off campus, dial 231-6668.

• In order to make ANY long distance calls (including direct dial long distance, international, calling card, directory assistance, outgoing collect, and toll free (i.e. 800, 888, 877, etc.)  calls on the Virginia Tech telephone system, you must use an authorization code. Authorization codes are available from our Customer Online Access (COLA) application. You MAY request an authorization code in person at the CNS Student Network Services Office located in 120 Student Services Building, Monday through Friday, 8a.m. to Noon, and 1p.m. to 5p.m. Remember to bring your ID.
• Activation and use of an authorization code obligates you to pay associated processing and use fees. Furthermore, you must comply with all rules and regulations regarding telecommunications policy at Virginia Tech.
• No deposit is required for long distance service. No subscription fee or monthly service fee is charged for an authorization code.
• YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE. SHARING OF AUTHORIZATION CODES IS A VIOLATION OF "UNIVERSITY POLICIES FOR STUDENT LIFE" AND IS SUBJECT TO DISCIPLINARY ACTION.
• You are responsible for ALL calls made with your authorization code.
• Each student assigned to a room shall be jointly and severably liable for all calls made from their telephone.
• If your code is lost or stolen, notify CNS Student Network Services immediately. You must go to the CNS Student Network Services Office located in 120 Student Services Building to deactivate your code and obtain a new one. Authorization code cancellations and reissues may be made during normal business hours, 8a.m. - 5p.m., Monday through Friday. You will be liable for all charges made with your authorization code until a cancellation order is completed. A $5.00 fee will be charged to change your authorization code, except in cases where fraudulent use is suspected.
• Virginia Tech WILL deny long distance and other billable services to students with a PAST DUE telecommunications balance.
• Before the end of the academic year, CNS Student Network Services will send students a newsletter advising them of the date when authorization codes and any other optional services subscribed to will be turned off. You may use COLA to make any necessary changes.
• Please note, if your balance is less than $5.00 for a given month, you will not receive a bill. You will be notified via e-mail each month until your balance reaches $5.00 or if you deactivate your telecommunications services. Additionally, all students will be billed at the end of each semester (May and December) regardless of the account balance.

2. Monthly Bill - (Sample Bill)

• You will receive a CNS statement for long distance calls and any other optional services you have requested such as Additional PhoneMail Messages, Additional PhoneMail Distribution Lists, Station Speed, or Additional Ethernet Connections. The statement will indicate the originating extension, the date of each call, the time of day the call originated, the number called, the duration of the call, and the cost of the call. Your bill will also include applicable processing and monthly fees for optional services. Each statement will also include a remittance slip for payment, a summary of current charges, and an account summary. See " Sample Bill".
• Student bills are printed based on the status of your account on the first day of the current month. The billing period for authorization code service will normally reflect calls and payments from the first through the last day of the previous month. A call made before or after the "normal" billing period dates may appear on your statement. You will NOT be billed more than once for the SAME call.
• IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A BILL OR AN EMAIL NOTIFICATION CONCERNING YOUR BALANCE BY THE 15th OF EACH MONTH, IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ADVISE CNS STUDENT NETWORK SERVICES SO YOU MAY OBTAIN A COPY. FAILURE TO RECEIVE A BILL DOES NOT RELIEVE YOU OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR PAYING BY THE DATE DUE.
• CNS Student Network Services will not send monthly bills to addresses outside the United States.
• Should you have a question regarding your account, please call, visit, or e-mail CNS Student Network Services (120 Student Services Building, 1-3000, stunet@vt.edu) within 30 days of the billing date. DO NOT contact Verizon or any long distance company regarding your Virginia Tech telephone account.

3. Payment of Bills

• There are four options for making payments:
  1. Mail your payment (check or money order) in the envelope enclosed with your bill. This envelope will require a stamp, and must be put in the OFF-CAMPUS MAILBOX located in your residence hall, as it will be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service to a bank in Richmond. Please include your return address on the envelope. MAIL YOUR PAYMENT AT LEAST FIVE (5) WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE DUE DATE FOR TIMELY CREDITING TO YOUR ACCOUNT.
  2. Payments made by check or money order may also be deposited in the Telecommunications Drop Box in the Student Services Building. DROP BOX PAYMENTS MUST BE DEPOSITED AT LEAST THREE (3) WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE DUE DATE. DO NOT drop past due payments in the drop box.
  3. Cash payments may be made ONLY at the Cashier's window in the Student Services Building, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. ALWAYS retain a copy of your receipt when paying in cash. DO NOT SEND CASH BY MAIL OR DEPOSIT CASH IN THE DROP BOX.
  4. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).
• DO NOT place payments in your on-campus residence hall mail box. By doing so, you risk having your payment lost or delayed, which could result in your services being deactivated.
• DO NOT send correspondence with payments. Correspondence related to your account should be sent to the CNS Student Network Services Office, 120 Student Services Building, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0181.
• Make checks payable to: Treasurer, Virginia Tech.
• Two-party checks will not be accepted.
• TO INSURE PROPER CREDIT, YOU MUST INCLUDE YOUR REMITTANCE SLIP WITH YOUR PAYMENT. YOUR REMITTANCE SLIP IS THE TOP PORTION OF YOUR BILL. WRITE YOUR STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBER OR YOUR CNS CUSTOMER ACCOUNT NUMBER ON YOUR CHECK. If you need a remittance slip, you may obtain one from either the CNS Student Network Services Office, 120 Student Services Building; or the Accounts Receivable window, also in the Student Services Building.
• IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO PAY YOUR BILL UNTIL THE DUE DATE, PAY AT THE CASHIER'S WINDOW, (MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8.00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.) STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING, TO INSURE THE MOST RAPID CREDIT TO YOUR ACCOUNT. OBTAIN AND KEEP YOUR RECEIPT.
• IF PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED BY THE DUE DATE, YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE AND ALL OPTIONAL SERVICES ARE SUBJECT TO DEACTIVATION. Postmark dates are not considered when deactivating services. Deactivation discontinues all billable services.
• Once your services have been disconnected due to nonpayment by the due date, you must visit CNS Student Network Services in 120 Student Services Building to arrange for reactivation of your authorization code and any optional services to which you subscribe. To reactivate your authorization code, proof of payment of any past due amount must be presented to the CNS Student Network Services Office. A $20.00 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCOUNT REACTIVATION FEE WILL BE ADDED TO ANY DEACTIVATED ACCOUNT. OTHER PROCESSING FEES MAY ALSO APPLY TO CERTAIN SERVICES.
• Payments received after the last day of the month will be credited on the following month's bill.
• Unpaid accounts will be turned over to Virginia Tech Accounts Receivable for collection. This action will block your university records until past due amounts are paid in full. You will be responsible for all collection costs, including reasonable attorney's fees.
• Checks written incorrectly will not be accepted. Dishonored checks are equivalent to nonpayment and will be assessed a service charge. This will result in a past due account; your authorization code and any billable optional services subscribed to may be deactivated. You will be billed by Communications Network Services for the amount of the returned check and the service fee.

4. Disputed Calls

• If you feel you were incorrectly billed for a particular call, you must notify CNS Student Network Services WITHIN 30 CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE BILL. CNS Student Network Services will provide pertinent information available from its records.

5. Other Billable Calls

• BILLING FOR LONG DISTANCE CALLS MAY BE BASED ON TIMING PARAMETERS. YOU MAY BE BILLED FOR UNANSWERED LONG DISTANCE CALLS IF YOU LISTEN TO A BUSY SIGNAL FOR 45 SECONDS OR IF YOU ALLOW THE PHONE TO RING FOR 45 SECONDS AFTER COMPLETION OF DIALING THE LAST DIGIT OF A LONG DISTANCE NUMBER. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THE DURATION OF THE CALL! CREDIT WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR THESE CALLS!
• Charges for Directory Assistance Calls made using your Authorization Code will be billed to the user telephone number.

6. Long Distance Rates

• All direct-dialed long distance calls placed from residence halls will be billed at a flat rate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This rate applies to all calls dialed using an area code including those to Canada and most areas of the Caribbean.

7. International Calls

• International toll calls (those requiring 011 and Country Code) are billed on a cost-per-minute (CPM) schedule. The rates vary for each country and are the same 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please use the Virginia Tech International Rates Calculator to find the calling rates for a particular country.

8. Community Choice Plan

• Calls placed to Alum Ridge, Ballard, Floyd, Locust Grove, Newport, Pembroke, and Willis may be placed using 7 digits and will be charged a flat rate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Optional Telephone Services

• Additional telecommunications services may be obtained by visiting CNS Student Network Services in 120 Student Services Building.
• The optional services currently available include Station Speed, Additional PhoneMail Messages, Additional PhoneMail Distribution Lists, Analog Line, and Additional Ethernet Connections.
• Optional services will be denied (deactivated) to students with past due telecommunications bills.
• You MUST contact CNS Student Network Services if you move off-campus or change rooms.
• Your services will NOT automatically be moved or disconnected unless you notify CNS Student Network Services. If moving from one room to another, certain processing fees may apply depending upon the service.

D. Annoying Calls

A. How to connect your Cable TV

• Each residence hall room has a single video outlet which requires coaxial cable to connect to your television. The cost of cable television programming is included in your comprehensive student fees. You will not receive a bill for cable television service. Problems with television reception should be referred to CNS Network Operations Center (NOC) at 1-6780. If your television is normally connected to an antennal, it can be adapted by attaching a balun to the antenna terminal. A coaxial cable then connects the balun to the video outlet.
• The cable television system currently has 58 channels of which channels 6, 9, 19, 20, 29, 31, 34-39, 43, 45, and 50 are slated for instructional use. The Student Channel, channel 33, has a variety of student-produced programs and carries information on student activities and programming from VTTV Student Television. Channel 2 displays information on other cable television programming and carries inclement weather news and updates.
• Instructions for connecting your television can be found at http://www.cns.vt.edu/cable_howTo.html

B. Troubleshooting Tips

1. If you are not getting any picture at all, check all the connections making sure they are connected properly.
2. If the picture is still snowy, it could be your television set. Look at a neighbor's television, or the one in your residence hall lounge to see if the reception is poor there, too.
3. If there is a problem on some channels but not on others, it is probably due to technical problems in the cable system. Please call 1-6780 and report the problem to the Network Operations Center Technicians.
4. Check the cable/TV setting on the back of your television set.

A. On-campus Ethernet Connection

Each residence hall room is equipped with two Ethernet connections, one per resident, which is the on-campus access to the Internet. To connect your computer to the University's Ethernet, you will need a 10-BaseT Ethernet card and a 10-BaseT patch cable with an RJ-45 connector, which may be purchased from your computer's vendor, most electronics stores, or the University Bookstore. The latest guidelines regarding computer requirements for incoming Virginia Tech students may be found at www.compreq.vt.edu. For assistance with connecting and configuring your computer, please call 4HELP (1-4357).

University Computing Support compiles a CD, known as VTNET, with a suite of Internet software for Macintosh and Windows operating systems. The VTNET software includes Ethernet (for on-campus students) and Modem (off-campus) configuration software, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Acrobat Reader, Tera Term Pro, NCSA Telnet, WS_FTP, and Fetch. The CD is available from TechConnect which is located in the ACITC/Torgersen Building or in the CNS Student Network Services office at 120 Student Services Building. Additional software, including virus protection software, is available for download from the university's 4HELP Computing Consulting Web site at at www.ucs.vt.edu.

When you install the University provided VTNET software, you will be given a dynamic Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is a set of numbers uniquely identifying your computer to the network. This method of randomly assigned IP addresses is commonly referred to as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Further information about the workings of DHCP may be found here.

Help with diagnosing and resolving potential hardware or software configuration problems is available by calling University Computing Support (UCS) at 4HELP (4-4357). 4HELP also maintains a website at www.ucs.vt.edu where you will find a wealth of information. At the site, you will find free software downloads to help you manage your computer and some of your educational accounts such as PIDs and passwords.

Additional information is available at the CNS Student Network Services Office in 120 Student Services Building (extension 1-3000 on campus, or 231-3000 from off campus).

PLEASE NOTE: The campus telephone system uses digital telephones, which do not support the use of analog modems, answering machines, etc. Connecting them to the digital telephone line wall jack may damage analog devices. The university is not responsible for analog devices damaged as a result of their connection to the digital telephone network.

B. Virginia Tech Modem Pool

• Off-Campus access to Virginia Tech's computing system and the Internet is available via our modem pool service. There is a monthly service fee of $9.90 and a processing fee of $6.00 for the Modem Pool service.
• Please review the Virginia Tech Modem Pool Service Disclosure statement if you are considering subscribing to this service and visit the CNS Student Network Services Office during normal business hours to establish service.
• For help accessing the Virginia Tech Modem Pool, contact CNS Network Operations Center (NOC) 7am - 10pm, Monday-Friday, and 10am -10pm, Saturday-Sunday at 231-6780. For assistance with configuring your software to access the modem pool, call 4-HELP consultants at 231-4357.

Canceling Modem Pool Service

• If you wish to change the deactivation date of your service, you may do so by either visiting the CNS Student Network Services Office at 120 Student Services Building, with your Hokie Passport, or by sending an e-mail (stunet@vt.edu), a letter, or a FAX (540-231-9532). You may also deactivate your service online at cola.cns.vt.edu. Please do not include any correspondence on remittance slips when sending payments to the Bank Payment Processing Center in Richmond, Virginia. Service cannot be changed over the telephone. In order for us to properly update your account, please include the following in your correspondence:

1. Name
2. Student ID Number or your CNS Customer Account Number (CAN)
3. Deactivation Date
4. Forwarding Address

C. Acceptable Use Information

• You are responsible for knowing and abiding by Virginia Tech's "Acceptable Use of Information Systems" guidelines.

Fraudulent use of the telecommunications system is a State and Federal offense and Virginia Tech will exercise the right to prosecute anyone who abuses and/or fraudulently uses telecommunications services. Accessing and using the telecommunications system in a manner other than its designated use is prohibited and is considered fraudulent use of the system. This includes the obtaining, attempting to obtain, or assisting another to obtain long distance message service by rearranging, tampering with, or making connection with any facilities (telephone, data, or video, including wiring), with intent to avoid payment of the regular charge for such services or use of the system.

Sharing your authorization code, or using an authorization code other than your own, as well as unauthorized use of data or video connections is prohibited. Each person is responsible for his/her authorization code. It must be protected in the same manner as any credit card. Do not share your code with roommates or leave it lying around for others to see. Additionally, protect your telephone by locking your room when it is unoccupied.

If your authorization code is lost or stolen, contact CNS Student Network Services immediately. You may be responsible for all calls made prior to your notification in person at the CNS Student Network Services office. Authorization Code cancellations and reissues may be made during normal working hours of CNS Student Network Services (8:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. and 1:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday). A $5 fee may be charged for issuing a new authorization code, except in cases where fraudulent use is suspected.

FRAUDULENT USE OF THE SYSTEM BY ANYONE, AUTHORIZED USER OR NOT, WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. FRAUDULENT CALLS WILL BE TRACED, AND ABUSERS WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND TURNED OVER TO THE PROPER UNIVERSITY AUTHORITIES FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION. Students found guilty of fraudulent use of the telecommunications system will be charged for any relevant installation, use, and administrative investigation fees. Individuals found guilty of fraudulent use of an authorization code will be charged the cost of the call(s), investigation fees of $5 per call ($20 minimum), plus any other collection costs.

Students found guilty of tapping into unauthorized voice, data or video connections will be charged normal installation and use fees, as well as labor and materials costs, to return the connection to its original state. Additionally, an administrative investigation fee of $20 will be charged.