My.SUPA. Frequently Asked Questions

When you are logged into My.SUPA, your courses will be listed in a box on the right hand side of the first page of My.SUPA. If you can see a list of course categories instead of your courses, log in.



Your courses are those for which you are currently registered. If this list is incorrect or incomplete, contact 'courses' at SUPA Central (www.supa.ac.uk/Contact_SUPA).

Look at the relevant week or view the resources list.

Materials are only available to students once the lecturer has released them from their master files list.

To open PostScript files you will need a suitable client like GhostScript.

Internet Explorer may attempt to stop you viewing PostScript files. An Information Bar may pop up. It usually reads something like "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer blocked this site from downloading files to your computer. Click here for options..."

Click for the options and select 'Download File...'

Choose whether to 'Open' the file now to to 'Save' it for later viewing.

Struggling to view your lecturer's slides? Try the TonicPoint viewer. http://tonicsystems.com/products/viewer/

To enrol on a SUPA course, first go to the My.SUPA area for the course. (How do I find a course area?)

If the course is open for self-enrolment, there will be an enrolment link in the administration block on the left hand side of the page.

When you click on the link, you will be taken to the enrolment page. You will be asked to decide whether you are joining the course as a student or as an auditor. (More information about auditing courses)

If this is the first time you have enrolled in a SUPA course this year, you will also be asked to consent to being recorded in lectures. If you do not consent to be recorded, leave the consent box unchecked. (More information about recording)

Finally, click on the 'Enrol' button at the bottom of the page to enrol on the course.

If you are enrolled on a course, your name will appear in the list of participants and the name of the course will appear in the 'My courses or areas' blocks. This block can be found on the top right of the front page of My.SUPA and on the left hand side of every internal page. Note that it only shows you your courses when you're logged in.

If you change your mind about a course, or wish to swap from student to auditor or vice versa, unenrol from the course and start again.

If you change your mind about recording consent, please email recording@supa.ac.uk.

You will find guidance on the procedures for obtaining credit for non-SUPA courses in the Student Handbook as well as https://www.supa.ac.uk/Graduate_School/Attendance_Assessment_SUPA_Courses.php. 

How do I change or edit the text in my course?

Staff can refer to the notes in the SUPA Teaching Staff area or the .

This includes some a leaflet on things you can do with My.SUPA, and also some instructions to help you to upload a file.

In most parts of My.SUPA, including discussion forums, you can type in LaTeX and the expression will be rendered as an image in html pages and emails.

Example: Type the following without the spaces between the dollar signs:

$$\frac{a}{b}$$

to get

$\frac{a}{b}$

More help is available on using LaTeX notation

To unsubscribe from a forum, click on the link at the bottom of any email received from that forum. Alternatively, log into My.SUPA, find the forum and click on the 'Unsubscribe' me link on the right hand side of the page.

Note that you cannot unsubscribe from News Forums. These are the forums we use to tell you about important events like cancelled lectures.

A My.SUPA account can be automatically issued if you are a member of staff or PhD student in Physics or a related area and have a university email address from a SUPA partner

Use the quick self-service form to request a SUPA account if you are a PhD student or a member of staff in a department of physics and/or astronomy at Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Strathclyde or UWS universities.

Quick self-service My.SUPA account setup for staff and PhD students
https://my.supa.ac.uk/login/signup.php

For other account requests please use the form below. 
 
Please contact the SUPA office if you do not have a university email address in one of the SUPA universities.

Request a My.SUPA login

You may self register on my.supa.ac.uk website if you are using your university email address.  Please contact the SUPA office if you are not based in a partner university.

SUPA Front Page

If you have been given an account, you may log in to the My.SUPA site by using your fullname and password. Alternatively the login box may also recognise your email address as your username.

My.SUPA List of Courses (top-right)

After you have logged in the My.SUPA front page, the box at the top right will show a list of the courses to which you belong. Some of these are real lecture courses. Others are organisational areas such as ‘Staff’, ‘Mailroom’, ‘Condensed Matter Theme Area’

If you do not see the course that you require, follow the link to ‘All My.SUPA areas’ to see the complete list. During enrolment, students can preview and then enrol into courses of their choice. For late enrolment, contact the SUPA Office.

If you are viewing one of your courses, the option to change your password should appear in your Admin list.

Alternatively, click on any instance of your name (for example, at the top right hand side of the front page) and click on the Change Password button underneath your profile.

What is SUPA going to record?

SUPA courses are routinely recorded by the video system, before being made available on MySUPA course pages. SUPA may also record one-off events where we think there may be benefit for those unable to attend in person.

What will SUPA use the recordings for?

The most important use for the recordings will be for students to use as a reference after the lecture has taken place. This is especially important where someone has had to miss a lecture, either through illness or being away at an experiment or conference. While this won't replace the lecture experience, we hope that it will be a useful substitute.

What about the other uses mentioned in the consent notice?

The consent notice mentioned some other possible uses for the recordings. These were put in so that we don't have to keep coming back to you for additional consent, but that does not mean that we intend to use every lecture recording in this these ways.

Where will the recordings be available?

The videos will be made available to staff and students through My.SUPA. Only logged in participants (staff and students) will have access to the recording of a particular course. If you have any particular ways in which you would like to view the videos, please get in touch.

What is recorded?

The content of a recording normally shows a large version of the presentation slides and a small version of the video with a similar layout to the one that you seen on the two screens in your room, only at a reduced resolution.

When will the recordings be available?

If a lecture has been recorded, you can typically expect the recording to be available about a week after the lecture. If there's one which you need urgently, let us know. We'll work to give you access to the recordings as quickly as possible.

Do I have to give consent?

It is a requirement of the recording service we are using that everyone that appears or is heard on the recording must give consent.

Although we have to ask for consent from everyone, we've tried to make the request as clear and transparent as we can. We'd like everyone to give their consent so that we can give you the best service, but if you have any questions about this then please get in touch.

How do I know if the conference is being recorded?

A red circle will appear in the top left hand corner of the video screen during a recording.

How can I avoid being in the recording?

If you have concerns and it is important that you do not appear in any video recording, then then select "no", and email us at recording@supa.ac.uk so that we can make some special arrangements.

What if I have more questions?

If you have any questions about the recording service, please contact admin@supa.ac.uk . Please tell us if your question is about the technical side of the recording or our policies - that will help us direct your question appropriately.

To book one or more SUPA VC room, please contact the local manager of the room to check availability and make the booking online @ http://www.supa.ac.uk/room_booking with your request.

University	Room No.
Dundee	Basement, Ewing Building
Edinburgh	JCMB 1301
Glasgow	255a, Kelvin Building
Heriot-Watt	1.27, Earl Mountbatten Building
St Andrews	307 Physics Building
Strathclyde	813, John Anderson Building
UWS	F.318, Henry Building

For help using the rooms, see getting started with video conferencing. 

Information about access to the rooms and door codes is available (login required).   

If you are interested in using the room for a meeting or seminar, please see SUPA classroom booking

Most SUPA conferences are held in EM 1.27. In the Earl Mountbatten Building.  However in some cases we may arrange a conference in the Media Studio instead.

The Heriot Watt Media Studio is in the Audio and Visual Services Building in the Media Studio on the Edinburgh Campus at Riccarton.

Directions

Go to main reception, and then head towards the library.

Before you go up the stairs into the Library, go outside using the door directly ahead of you.

The media studio building is on the opposite side of the square on the right hand side.

If you have any difficulty finding your way call the Media helpdesk on x3019 (0131 451 3019)


Maps

See https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/contact/maps-directions.htm

Address:

Media Studio
Audio Visual Services
Heriot-Watt University,
Riccarton,
Edinburgh
EH14 4AS

How do I use the Video Conference Rooms

A series of videos and notes are available which explain how the video conference rooms across SUPA work and how to use them.

See the videos and notes in the Introduction to Video Conferencing course area.