In the event that routine work or academic functions are disrupted due to prolonged campus or building closures, you may find it necessary to work or teach a class from off campus. We provide a variety of services to connect you with colleagues and students remotely so that work and learning can continue uninterrupted. Students should visit our learning remotely page for more information. 

In the event that routine work or academic functions are disrupted due to prolonged campus or building closures, you may find it necessary to work or teach a class from off campus. We provide a variety of services to connect you with colleagues and students remotely so that work and learning can continue uninterrupted. Students should visit our learning remotely page for more information. 

In preparation, you should make sure you have tested your access to the following equipment at home:

• Laptop or desktop computer.
• Microphone – this may be built into your laptop or computer, or you may use an external device such as a USB microphone or headset. If you’re looking to purchase a microphone, Zoom has the following recommendations.
• Webcam – a camera may already be built into your laptop, but you can also use an external USB camera for video conferencing. If you’re looking to purchase a camera, Zoom has the following recommendations.
• Internet – either commercially provided (e.g., Comcast, Fios), or configure your phone to be a wireless hotspot. Many providers are relaxing their policies and offering lower cost options to help people stay connected. If you are having trouble with your home connection, please see our troubleshooting tips.

Be prepared! It’s best to know these options will work for you before you actually need them. Test access to your equipment and resources at home before the need arises and contact us if you have any questions or issues. We have a number of remote readiness consultation sessions scheduled where you can bring in your laptop and get your questions answered on how to work from home.

If you do not have equipment at home that meets these standards, please consult with your supervisor.

Working Remotely

Meet & Chat Online

Microsoft Teams combines modern online meeting technology with persistent chat (similar to Slack), file storage, and collaboration. The full functionality of teams is now available to faculty, staff, and students. To get started log in to Microsoft Teams from your web browser or download the Teams app from Microsoft.
Zoom Meetings also provides a robust platform for online collaboration and meetings, pairing full video and audio conferencing capabilities with content sharing and cloud recording. Faculty, staff, and students automatically receive fully licensed accounts. Once logged in, download the Zoom Client for Meetings from the Zoom Download Center on your home computer to access the full benefits of Zoom. We recommend taking a few extra steps to help secure your Zoom meetings to ensure that only people you invite attend.

Access Your BU Phone/Voicemail

Even when you are away from the office, there are several options for accessing your calls and voicemail.

You can have your voicemails delivered by email. Once configured, you will receive an email with an attached sound file whenever someone leaves a voicemail on your line. You will still be able to check and manage voicemails by calling 3-9999 on campus or 617-353-9999 when off campus.

The Single Number Reach feature will ring both your desk phone and another number simultaneously, allowing you to receive your calls both on and off campus. Alternatively, you can choose to simply forward all your calls to another number and not have it ring your office phone.