Getting Started
Setting up a Virginia Tech email account
All new students will need to set up an official Virginia Tech email account to communicate with instructors and university departments. They must use their Virginia Tech email account for all communications with university personnel.
Students will start using this account while they are enrolled in pre-degree studies and will continue to use it all during their degree program at Virginia Tech.
The email username is also called a PID, or “Personal IDentifier.” With their PID and the associated password, students can access online Virginia Tech services, such as their university profile, library services, and Hokie SPA.
Upon receipt of the program deposit, the program coordinator will supply a unique student identification number used to set up a student account. Students will create their PID from the Generate PID page.
Rules for computer use
Access to computer systems and networks owned or operated by Virginia Tech impose certain responsibilities and obligations. Students are granted access subject to university policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use is ethical, reflects academic honesty, and shows restraint in the consumption of shared resources. It demonstrates respect for intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals' rights to privacy and to freedom from intimidation and harassment.
It is against the law to download copyrighted music or video files without paying for them. If students are not sure, then it is better to assume that it is copyrighted.
The university considers any violation of acceptable use principles or guidelines to be a serious offense, and it reserves the right to copy and examine any files or information resident on university systems allegedly related to unacceptable use, and to protect its network from systems and events that threaten or degrade operations.
If students violate the acceptable use rules, they are subject to disciplinary action as prescribed in the Honor System, and employee handbooks. Offenders may also be prosecuted under applicable U.S. laws.
Campus alerts
VT Alerts is Virginia Tech's emergency notification system. In a campus emergency, Virginia Tech will use several information delivery methods to reach students because, at any given time, one form of communications might be better to reach them than another.
VT Alerts, one of those delivery means, will send messages to cellphones, landline numbers, and email accounts. Students are strongly encouraged to register for VT Alerts. Register here.
Hokie Passport
Students are permitted to use campus libraries, most recreation facilities, and open computer laboratories. They must have a photo identification card from the Hokie Passport Office in the Student Services Building located on Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus at 800 Washington St., SW. They need their Hokie ID card when they:
- Ride the Blacksburg Transit buses.
- Use the Schiffert Health Center.
- Visit the War Memorial Hall or McComas Hall gymnasiums.
- Check materials out of Newman Library.
- Add money to their Hokie Passport Account (for on-campus cash purchases and computer printing).
- Cash checks.
More information about the identification card and services will be presented during orientation.