Frequently Asked Questions

Although it is not absolutely necessary to bring a computer onto campus, many students do. If you prefer to minimize your expenses or will make arrangements purchase a computer after you arrive and verify needs with your academic department, then there are a number of computer labs on campus as well as some "public" stations that can be used by all students.  

If you do want to purchase a computer, below are some recommended specifications to aid in deciding on a computer that will work best for you. Our intention is to provide specifications for a computer that should last the duration of your time here at Olivet. You should also note that nearly all retailers offer a variety of discounts to customers with verifiable educational email accounts.

Recommended Specifications for Any Computer

• Processor: Intel i5 current version, AMD equivalent, or better
• RAM: 8 GB 
• Hard Drive: 256 GB Hard Drive (Solid State Recommended)

Other Considerations

Factors such as interests and intended course of study can affect what you should look for in a computer.  If most of what you plan on doing is standard tasks such as writing papers, preparing presentations, browsing the Internet, and similar activities, most computers that meet these minimum requirements will work fine.  However, if you expect to do much with music, audio, video, or art, the higher the specs you can get the better as those types of activities can be resource intensive.  Any questions about specific computing needs for a given major should be directed to that academic department.

The best way to manage your ONUnet password is to visit changemypassword.olivet.edu. 

Enter your username in the username field and your password in the password field. If you do not know your password, click the forgot password link.

If you have not already used this tool you will need to enter the default password (the default password scheme is ONU-[last 4 of ssn][lower case first 3 of last name]). This will open a prompt asking you to enter answers to a few security questions. Once you have completed this section you will be able to change your password. 

When changing the password make sure you follow the guidelines listed. 

The guidelines include:

• Eight or more characters
•  One or more numbers
•  Upper and lower case letters
•  One or more special characters (e.g. !@#$%^&*()-+={{}}.\|~)

You can contact the IT Help Desk by sending an email message to it@olivet.edu, calling 815-939-5302 (866-400-5302 toll-free), or by submitting a support request by clicking here.

For tablets and other mobile devices:

1. Most devices should auto-discover the server information for Office 365 (the Microsoft service that hosts our email system).
2. Go to the account or email settings feature of your device and choose the option to add an account.
3. The account type should be something like “Exchange ActiveSync” or “Exchange Email.”
4. Enter your complete Olivet email address as the  username and your email password as the password then press the “Next” or equivalent button to attempt the connection.
5. If the connection and configuration completes, you are done.
6. If you device cannot auto-discover the server, you need to do a manual configuration.  On the configuration screen, enter “m.outlook.com” as the email server address along with your email address and password.
7. If you are still having a problem connecting to the server, you may need to find your exact server name from the Outlook Web App client.  There is a Mobile Phone Setup Wizard available from Microsoft to assist with finding the necessary information.  Select the operating system of the device you are attempting to connect and follow the provided instructions.

For connecting your new email account to the Outlook desktop client or other email application, use the E-Mail Setup Help Wizard from Microsoft to assist with finding the necessary information and follow the provided instructions.

You can access your Olivet email account by logging into My Olivet.  At the top of the home page you should see a button labeled "Access Outlook email."  Just click that button to be taken to the email login page.

You can also access Olivet email directly by visiting email.olivet.edu and entering your full Olivet email address (<username>@olivet.edu) and your email password. If you are a new student and have not yet changed your email password, you will use the default password given to you when you received your account details.

Olivet Nazarene University does not provide students with telephone services from their residence hall rooms as just about everyone has their own personal device.  For students who may not have their own phone, there is a phone in the commons area of each residence hall that they can use.