There is huge diversity among the devices used by off-campus visitors to our websites (my.bcit.ca, the Faculty and Student Information page, course registration, etc.). Some users will occasionally be unable to see certain pages properly or to perform certain actions.
The Service Desk staff can confirm for you that the troublesome function or web page is working. By logging into the site with your BCIT credentials from a campus computer, then the problem lies with your home computer configuration.
BCIT does not support non-BCIT or home computers. Our experience with common sources of such problems may help you resolve them. If your difficulties continue after reading our suggestions below, you will have to obtain support from a source other than BCIT IT Services.
Possible resolutions
Firewall – If you have a firewall installed you should be aware that many firewalls can interfere with the correct operation of a website by blocking certain websites and types of Internet traffic. To see if the firewall is the cause of a problem, shut the firewall down temporarily and test the operation of the website. If this solves your problem, you can then read the documentation of your firewall for instructions on adding our website to the trusted sites list. You may also have to configure the firewall to enable ActiveX to function on your computer.
Popup blockers – Popup blockers can prevent the proper function of a website, as they prevent separate windows from opening. Try disabling any Popup blockers that you have running. .
Default settings – For various reasons, certain settings within Internet Explorer can be altered from the default settings. We have determined that our websites work best when they are added to your Trusted Sites Zone and with the settings for that zone set to Default Level. To set the Trusted sites zone to the default level, follow the steps below:
- From within Internet Explorer, Click Tools then Click Internet Options to open the Internet Options window.
- Select the Security tab. This will display four web content zones – Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites and Restricted sites.
- Select the Trusted Sites zone and set the Security level for the zone to the Default Level.
To add the website to your trusted sites list, with the Trusted site Zone still selected:
- Click the Sites button
- If the website requires server verification (e.g. the website URL prefix is https://) check the appropriate box. If the website does not require secure sockets layer (e.g. it is a normal website with either no prefix or the prefix http://) then clear this box.
- In the “Add this website to the zone” box, type in the full web address, including the http:// or https:// prefix, and click the Add button.
Many of our websites also require the use of cookies. To enable cookies, follow the steps below:
- Select the Privacy tab.
- Click the Default button.
Finally, to ensure that other miscellaneous settings are at the default values:
- Select the Advanced tab
- Click on the Restore Advanced Settings button.
You may now close the Internet Option window.
- Click Apply
- Click Close
- Close Internet Explorer and restart it for all the settings to take effect.
Spyware and Viruses – The presence of spyware and viruses can also affect a computer’s ability to function correctly with our webpages. Make sure you protect and update your computer.