You should expect to be treated accordingly. Specific policies regarding such actions are spelled out in the Student Handbook, which is available in hard copy from the College, and will be available online very soon. The University recommends a minimum setup for your computer system that will help you access all the tools in the course. Any provider will do as long as you get an email account and have access to the World Wide Web. These specifications are minimal, and you'll get by with them.
More sophisticated systems are better.
Top of Page General Software Recommendations MUOnline instructors generally recommend that students use either MSWord or WordPerfect for papers and assignments. These programs offer the greatest common denominator in terms of sending documents across different platforms. Sometimes, specific courses will have specific recommendations about software. You might also be aware that even if you don't have the most recent release of MSWord or WordPerfect, there are addins that will enhance the performance of your program. Make certain that, whichever browser you choose, it is Java and Java Script enabled.