Student Computing Information Center
The Student Computing Information Center, more commonly called "the SCIC" (pronounced "Skick"), is a student office that provides computing support to current Carleton students and incoming first-year students. The SCIC is located in a glass "fishbowl" in the CMC.
The SCIC operates under ITS. For several years it was run by an ITS intern, traditionally a SCIC worker who graduated the previous year. However, in 2005, ITS hired a full-time SCIC supervisor, Kevin Chapman.
For information on support for alumni, staff, and faculty, see computing support.
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Services
The SCIC provides a number of computing-related services to students, including assisting them in the computer labs of the CMC and the Library. In addition, they offer general technical support via phone (extension x4040), e-mail (scic@carleton.edu), and directly, via RCCs.
Students at the SCIC frequently guide students who are having difficulty connecting to the ResNet. Due to the strong network security measures put up by Carleton after the Blaster worm struck in the summer of 2003, connecting to the network is not as simple as plug-and-play. It requires network registration, and may suffer from additional difficulties due to operating system settings.
The SCIC can also fix software problems on computers that are dropped off. The most common type of repair is the clean-up of viruses, spyware, and other "malware" that Windows computers are frequently affected by. Note that computers may only be dropped off or picked up from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays, for security reasons. Also note that the SCIC cannot repair hardware, due to liability concerns, although SCICers may voluntarily assist with simple operations such as RAM installation.
Hours
The SCIC is open during these hours during most of the school year:
- Monday-Thursday: 8:30 AM - 1:00 AM
- Friday: 8:30 AM - 9:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
- Sunday: 10:00 AM - 1:00 AM
In addition, the SCIC has extended hours during finals, and is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays during breaks, as well as during New Student Week.
Whenever the SCIC closes, two of the four ground floor CMC labs, the Magic Lab and Classroom Lab, also close. However, the other two labs, the MacLab and the WinLab, remain open 24/7.
SCIC employment
Due to the relatively light workload of the SCIC, which allows students extra time during their shifts for homework and web-surfing, jobs at the SCIC are generally considered desirable by computer-savvy students. Most SCICers are selected from the pool of incoming freshmen who indicate a preference for computing work, but current students can apply at any time. The SCIC currently employs approximately 30 students.
