Helping with gaming consoles, Wi-Fi, and more on move-in day

Move-in day can be hectic, what with the anxiety of carting your bags, being away from home, and managing your worried parents. The last thing you want to worry about is whether you can connect to Wi-Fi.

Enter the SWAT team at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. The pandemic may have put a pause on the SWAT team for two years, but they were back in full force this year for the start of the Fall 2022 semester. Approximately 200 staff members were involved in the SWAT effort over the three move-in days.

Between knocking on doors to help students connect various devices in their dorm rooms and working from tents outside to provide in-the-moment support for common issues like password resets, OIT worked with ResLife to help Rutgers freshmen during move-in days to help them settle into their new homes and prepare for their first day of classes.

The SWAT team received over 700 requests from first-year and returning students and assisted in solving their IT issues in the span of three days.

“Back-to-school is one of OIT’s busiest times, but it’s also the most exciting for our staff,” said Ana Verma, an OIT director. “This year’s move-in days were a rewarding experience for our staff, and we were so proud to have such a dedicated and incredible team on-site to help our newest students set up and feel at home.”

Miss out on seeing the SWAT team during move-in? Here are some helpful tech tips for the start of the new school year.

• Register your devices with ease by using the ResNet Device Registration portal. Permitted devices include gaming consoles, video streaming devices, desktops without wireless, and some smart home devices. Already have your devices registered from previous years? Please re-register them again, for the new semester.
• Wireless connection is available in dorm rooms; however, be sure to bring an ethernet cable and USB cable for your wired connections and printers.
• Check out the Rutgers tech store, kite+key, on the Livingston campus to purchase any tech items you may need for a successful semester.

The OIT Help Desk is available via phone, email, or in-person for any remaining technical questions or issues that arise as you settle into the new school year.