If such requirements are not met, even the most technology-savvy student may be baffled as to what may be wrong. Our random search and review of student help pages throughout the country shows quite a variety of approaches and specificity. Most pages were very general and devoid of context, although many offered a phone number to a help desk. The page also includes a help desk phone number for local as well as international students. Although Michigan's list of equipment specification is fairly straightforward, it is not clear from the page how the student should go about connecting to the Internet.
Universities provide different access routes to the Internet for their off-campus students.
Others have left the task of finding a service provider and connecting to the Internet to individual students. In either case, the information on how to connect should be included in the student support page. This section includes specific information for students on how to obtain additional reading materials and other resources from the bookstore, as well as how to set up an e-mail account. The page continues with information on how to start a class by finding its URL, and other directions, such as using one's username and password. Some of the tutorials were produced in-house, and others are merely links to technical support pages of vendors whose software is used by the college.