The time for Open Access and student computer sessions to lock, sleep and automatically log off has been revised.

IT equipment contributes to nearly a quarter of BU’s annual carbon emissions. The new procedure is part of BU’s on-going commitment to the Green ICT Policy – benefits will include reducing the university’s carbon emissions by at least 200 tonnes, in addition to saving over £50,000 in electricity costs.

From Tuesday 25 November, the PCs in the Open Access Centres – including the libraries – will lock after 10 minutes, and a forced logoff will be carried out after 30 minutes of inactivity. Any unsaved work will be lost, so please remember to save your documents regularly.

This new policy means that PCs can no longer be logged into and left unused for long periods of time, therefore freeing up more computers in the Libraries and Open Access Centres.

From Tuesday 9 December, PCs in student areas – such as the PC labs in the School buildings -will lock after 10 minutes and go to sleep after 30 minutes, but will not be logged off.

PCs will now remain in sleep mode until there is user interaction or an IT process – such as regular maintenance – is carried out. These policies will be in place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

There will be no disruption to any of the equipment whilst the changes are carried out. If you have any queries, please log a job via the IT Services website, or call the team on 01202 965515.