Student Success Resources
The School of Public Affairs offers personalized support to students and works in partnership with various CU Denver offices to ensure that our students have the support they need to succeed in our programs, to graduate and to find or advance in fulfilling careers.
Resources at the School of Public Affairs
In addition to the resources available to students through CU Denver, the School of Public Affairs provides the following support:
School of Public Affairs Student Resources "Course" in Canvas
The School of Public Affairs Student Resources “course” in Canvas is a collection of important information, guides and examples to help students through their academic journey. Students currently enrolled in courses at the School of Public Affairs should automatically have access to this resource when logging in to Canvas. Any student enrolled in the School of Public Affairs who does not see this “course” listed in their Canvas account can request access to the School of Public Affairs Student Resources course.
If you have questions about or suggestions for the student resources course, please send them to Jenn Hooker at jennifer.hooker@ucdenver.edu.
IT Resources and Support
Student Computer Lab and Software
The School of Public Affairs has a dedicated Student Computer Lab located on the fifth floor of Lawrence Street Center, Suite 500. The lab is equipped with 16 PC workstations, one instructing station, one scanner and two black and white printers that can print double-sided documents. The lab is staffed by student workers who can provide IT support during normal building hours. To log onto a lab computer, you will need your student username and password (the same as you would use to log into your student email account).
Students have in-person and remote access to SPA 5th floor computer lab and software.
In-person access: Students will be able to access the lab in person, but with limited capacity and at assigned seats due to social distancing. The lab is open on a first-come, first-served basis and will be staffed by a Student IT worker on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lab equipment is cleaned and disinfected at the beginning and end of every shift and between users. Students are highly encouraged to frequently wash their hands and to avoid touching their face.
Remote access: Students may connect remotely to computers in the 5th floor computer labs to use various software applications, like SPSS and STATA. Please follow these instructions, which contain information about support. Students are encouraged to save to OneDrive often. Note: Do not save locally (desktop/C: drive) or you will lose your work.
The following software applications are loaded onto the computers:
- Adobe Acrobat Pro: for reading, creating and merging PDFs
- Adobe Acrobat Reader: for reading PDFs
- ArcGIS: for data analysis using spatial/geographic data
- Hangul Word Processor: Korean language word processing program
- Microsoft Office: a suite of publications for word processing, taking notes, managing personal information, and creating spreadsheets, databases, forms, presentations and publications
- Microsoft SharePoint Workspace: for web content management
- NVIVO: for qualitative data analysis (e.g., analyzing interviews, multimedia and text/audio-based data
- PeaZip: for creating and converting compressed files
- R: advanced software programming language for data analysis
- SAS: for statistical analysis
- SPSS: for basic to intermediate data analysis
- STAT Transfer: for transferring data between statistical software programs and handling missing data, labels, etc.
- STATA: for advanced statistical analysis
- UCINet: for analysis of social networks
The lab is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week; however, to use the lab outside of normal business hours requires students to have approval from the School of Public Affairs to have your student ID programmed to be used by the card reader to access the lab outside of normal business hours.
Request this access by completing the SPA WorkOrder Form, selecting “Building Access” as your type of request.
Please note: The lab is occasionally reserved by faculty for class meetings.
Statistical Software Resources
UCLA's Institute for Digital Research and Education offers helpful information for Stata and SPSS statistical analysis software programs.
Wireless Network, Virtual Private Network and Remote Access
For information on accessing the CU Denver wireless network while on campus, and accessing the virtual private network and your remote desktop while off campus, visit the Office of Information Technology’s website.
Support for Online Courses
Online courses are managed through Canvas, an online learning platform. CU Online provide 24-hour support. Request support at 303-315-3700 or cuonlinehelp@ucdenver.edu.
Academic and Other Support
Help With Statistics, Economics, and Budgeting
Undergraduate students who would like assistance with statistics can contact the Math Department's MERC Lab for free statistics tutoring. Students in the MPA, MPP, and MCJ programs who are interested in free statistics tutoring can contact Shihao Dai at shihao.dai@ucdenver.edu to request support. Additionally, School of Public Affairs students can request support from Shihao for economics and budgeting.
Help With Writing
The university’s Writing Center is a great resource for all students, offering online resources, feedback on drafts, and workshops on common writing issues. Students interested in submitting written assignments to receive feedback or making appointments should set up an account with the Writing Center. Please anticipate a minimum turnaround time of two business days for review of writing assignments that you submit. If you have any questions or issues utilizing this service, please contact spa.writing.support@ucdenver.edu.
Formatting and Style
Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a terrific resource for APA, Chicago and MLA formatting and style.
CU Denver Resources
CU Denver provides a full range of services to its students, including the Auraria Library, learning and writing resources, study abroad, disability resources and services, mental health counseling services, medical and health education services, parking and transportation services, free and confidential services to survivors of sexual assault, University Police Department, Student Housing, Student Life & Campus Community, Tivoli Student Union, TRiO Student Support Services, Veteran Student Services, Latinx Student Services, and much more. Browse the directory of resources.
