Student Telephone Service

The information provided below is for your convenience. For complete details on Student Telephone Service, please refer to NUIT's website.

Important phone numbers

About your telephone service

Directories and directory assistance

Telephone repair service from NUIT

Data communications service

Miscellaneous

Important Phone Numbers

Northwestern University Information Technology (NUIT) is pleased to provide your telecommunications services. NUIT provides telecommunications services to the academic and administrative units of Northwestern University and many of its affiliates, as well as to all University residence halls and some fraternities and sororities. Among the many benefits of NUIT telephone service are these:

• Details on the Student Telephone Service can be found on the NUIT website.

You or one of your roommates will need to provide a touch-tone telephone. Telephones with a wide array of features such as last-number redial (which works with on-campus numbers only), privacy/mute buttons, and speed dialing can be purchased at many retail stores.

Rotary and/or other pulse-based telephones will not operate on the NUIT Communications Network. Cordless telephones are also not recommended because privacy cannot be assured. If you wish, you may also provide an answering machine, a fax machine, and/or a modem. You do not need a modem to access NUNet, the Northwestern University computer network.

Only one telephone line will be provided to each room. All telecommunications devices should be plugged into the outlet marked with the purple icon. The other outlets are for personal computers.

If you live in a University residence hall, the telephone number for your room is printed on your Residence and Board Contract. If you live in a Greek house, a list of room numbers and corresponding telephone numbers has been given to the Greek house. Telephone numbers are permanently assigned to a specific room and may not be moved from one room or hall to another.

The prefixes for NU residence halls and Greek house extensions served by NUIT are as follows:

Evanston Campus (area code 847):

Dial 2 + xxxx for 332-xxxx telephone numbers.

Chicago Campus (area code 312):

Dial 2 + xxxx for 482-xxxx telephone numbers.

Directories and Directory Assistance

NU Directory

The NU Faculty/Staff/Student Directory is published in late fall and is distributed to the residence halls in January. If you prefer not to be listed in the Directory, please visit the Registrar's office in Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Evanston, during normal business hours and request a form for this purpose.

Student Information Assistance: 1-5500

The Student Information Assistance Number, 1-5500 (847-491-5500 from outside the NUIT Network), is open from 9:00 am to midnight, 7 days a week. There is no charge for this service. NUIT Communications Center operators answer these calls. You may request the telephone numbers of two students per call. (Please check either the printed or electronic NU telephone directory before calling Student Information.)

Changes to Student Information

To report changes, additions, or deletions to your student information, visit the Registrar's Web site at www.northwestern.edu/registrar/ or visit the Registrar's office during business hours with your current Northwestern ID. This will ensure that your telephone number is listed correctly with both NU and the Northwestern operators.

To request that your telephone number not be listed, visit the Registrar's office during regular business hours with your current Northwestern ID. If you have any questions, please call the Registrar at 1-5234.

Direct-Dialed "Operator-Assisted" Calls

Dial 9 + 0 + Area Code + Telephone Number. At the tone, dial your calling-card number, or wait for an operator. If you place a call to a telephone number within the 224, 312, 630, 708, 773 or 847 Area Codes by dialing in this manner, SBC will process the call. If you place a call to a number within other area codes by dialing in this manner, Sprint will process the call. (You may also reach a Sprint operator by dialing 9 + 0 + 0.)

You may receive information from Sprint or Focal about operator charges, rates, or billing methods before any charges are incurred. Sprint also accepts major credit cards, including VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diner's Club, Discover, Carte Blanche, and JBC Charge. For Sprint Customer Service: dial 9 + 1 + 800-786-5050, or write to Sprint Hospitality Market Group, P. O. Box 8490, Kansas City, MO 64114-8490.

Other Carriers' Calling-Card System Access Numbers

You have the right to reach other long-distance carriers from this location. Listed below are the equal access numbers and the 800 numbers for contacting your preferred carrier.

To use the Equal Access Numbers: dial 9 + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + Equal Access Code + 0 + Telephone Number. At the tone, dial your calling card number.

To use the 800 number for your preferred carrier: dial the 800 Number for your preferred carrier. Follow your carrier's instructions for entering your calling card number and the telephone number you are calling.

Direct complaints to: FCC Common Carrier Bureau, Enforcement Division, 445 12th Street SW, Room 5-A863, Washington, DC 20024.

NUIT provides working dial-tone hookup to each residence hall room and sleeping rooms in Greek houses. The outlet marked with the purple icon should provide a dial tone. Should a problem arise with your telephone service, test your outlet to determine the source of the problem(s). Use a telephone and cord that you know are in good working condition and test the outlet in your room marked with the purple icon.

If you are able to call out with the substitute telephone and cord without any difficulties, your telephone or cord is probably the cause of the problem. If the problem recurs with the substitute equipment, the problem is probably with the NUIT Communications Network. Call our Service Center at 611 at anytime -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -- to report any of the following problems: no dial tone, static, trouble placing campus calls, trouble with Call-Waiting or trouble with incoming calls.

When you call 611, you will be asked for your name, address and room number; your NU ID number; the number of the telephone with the problem, a brief description of the problem; and a working telephone number where you can be reached. NUIT will test the line and attempt to clear the trouble. If it is determined that a technician must be dispatched to your room, an appointment will be made no sooner than the next business day between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, except for holidays. You must specify a two-hour window during which someone will be available to let the technician in your room.

Note: NUIT does not repair or replace telephones. Contact the manufacturer or the place of purchase to arrange for repairs.

Room Access

It is your responsibility to make arrangements to provide access to your telephone outlet for the NUIT technician. Technicians will not enter a room unescorted; you or your designated representative must be available to provide access to your telephone outlets and must remain with the technician throughout the visit. The NUIT technician will leave a summary card detailing the nature of the problem and how it was resolved, as well as the date and time of the visit. If a technician responds during a scheduled time frame and cannot gain entry due to the absence of you or your representative, you will be charged for the visit, and it will be your responsibility to reschedule the repair by calling 611.

Repair Charges

Repairs are free of charge unless any of the following apply:

1. Repair was required because of vandalism or tempering with NUIT jacks, lines or equipment.
2. You or your representative were not present during the scheduled time frame.
3. A technician was dispatched and the problem was found to be with your telephone (or other equipment) or its attachment to the jack.

Students in NU residence halls who have personal computers are able to connect to the NU computer network (NUNet), thereby reaching a wide range of resources, including the NU Web, the Internet and more. In residence halls, one Ethernet jack is provided for each room resident. Most Greek houses also have installed one data port per resident; please check with your house manager regarding data ports within your Greek house.

If you are interested in connecting your computer to NUNet, contact your Residential Networking Consultant (ResCon) to learn what hardware and software you will need, along with the steps necessary for networking your computer. If you do not know your ResCon, or if he or she is not available, call the NUIT Help Line at 1-HELP (1-4357).

Data Communications Repair Service

If you have a problem with data communications service, contact your ResCon, who will help you isolate the problem to the software, the hardware, or the data connection. If you do not know your ResCon, or if he or she is not available, call the NUIT Help Line at 1-HELP (1-4357). If the problem is traced to the data connection, you will be referred to NUIT's Data Communications Repair Service.

There is no charge for repairs made by NUIT to the data communications network unless:

1. Repair was required because of vandalism or tampering with NUIT jacks, lines or equipment.
2. You or your representative were not present during the scheduled time frame.

Note: NUIT does not repair or replace computers. Contact the manufacturer or place of purchase to arrange for repairs.

Call-Waiting/Cancellation of Call-Waiting

Call-Waiting provides a second incoming path to your telephone. If you are on a call and a second party dials your telephone number, you will hear a short beep. You may excuse yourself from the first call, depress the switchhook, and answer the second call. You may then speak alternately with each party, by depressing the switchhook as needed until either party hangs up. If you decide not to answer the second call immediately, the beep will be repeated every ten seconds or until the second caller hangs up. The second caller hears ringing until you answer -- he or she is not aware that you are on another call.

You can cancel Call-Waiting temporarily to prevent interruptions during outgoing calls. To cancel Call-Waiting for an outgoing call, press *70. You will hear two beeps followed by a dial tone when Call-Waiting has been successfully cancelled. Place the call to the other party. When your connection is terminated, Call-Waiting is reactivated automatically.

You may have NUIT permanently deactivate Call-Waiting for all calls if you and your roommate(s) agree. This averts the potential interruption of fax transmissions sent to you. Contact NUIT Technology Support Services (TSS) at 7-5560 and request a "Permanent Cancellation of Call-Waiting Form." Once the form is signed by all roommates and returned to NUIT, Call-Waiting will be deactivated for all calls.

Collect Calls

Because NUIT has no way to easily identify which roommate would accept an incoming collect call, collect calls placed to your room will be blocked, as they are to nearly all other University telephones. However, in emergency situations, residents can make collect calls to telephones in residence hall rooms or Greek houses on the NUIT Campus Network by calling the Student Information number (847-491-5500). The NUIT operator will obtain billing information from the resident making the call (name, address, telephone number, NU ID number), and charges will appear on that resident's monthly bill.

There are no restrictions on "outgoing" collect calls (collect calls made from the NUIT Network to locations outside the Network).

Harassing or Obscene Telephone Calls

Harassment by telephone is a violation of Illinois State Law. Report harassing or abusive calls to the Northwestern University Police for investigation at 1-3254.