Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Kalamazoo College’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) is available to faculty and staff, and can be used to access resources that are normally inaccessible off-campus. If you are unable to access an internal resource (like those listed below) while away from the College, obtaining VPN access may help you. The VPN service allows college-owned, and even personal computers to access the following:

• KFiles – This includes department shares as well as “M drives”
• Ellucian Colleague
• Remote Desktop – Note that the VPN service alone will not enable Remote Desktop connections. Additional measures need to be taken for users to access their work computer remotely. If you have questions about enabling Remote Desktop on your work computer, please contact the Help Desk.
• Other internal resources

Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop Connection allows you login to your computer to access local files and programs, just as if you were signed in from the office.

Traditionally, this would be used by someone on an extended period of leave, or if they had major deadlines, but could not make it to their workspace otherwise.

During this time we would like for everyone to stay safe and to stay home whenever possible, so we are encouraging the usage of this tool.

How do I know if remote desktop connection is right for me?

Remote Desktop Connection is recommended for someone handling Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Additionally it is used by those accessing specific programs that cannot be installed due to licensing costs. There may be other occasions such as “I need to access my documents” but keep in mind that it is almost always preferred that documents be stored in OneDrive or SharePoint to have access from anywhere.