EWS resources are designed, licensed, and budgeted to support undergraduate instruction (i.e. course) use. EWS resources are ultimately paid for by funds relating to undergraduate instruction.

As a rule of thumb, work being done for a grade is considered acceptable class use, while work being done to prepare results for publication would be considered research use. In situations where the delineation is unclear, EWS reserves the right to determine acceptable use on a case-by-case basis, with the goal of preserving the integrity of EWS resources.

 

All software titles made available via EWS resources are intended and licensed for instructional use only. Using university site-licensed software in a way that violates the license terms is a risk to both the university and to your own research.

By contrast, academic research activities are generally paid for by grants and other research funding which do not contribute to the funding of EWS resources. As such, research use puts an unsupportable burden on EWS resources which unfairly and negatively impacts their use by instructional classes.

 

Activities not directly related to The Grainger College of Engineering coursework, or otherwise not authorized by EWS are considered research or personal computing and are prohibited. This may also include some activities pertaining to graduate level coursework.

 

Using university site-licensed software in a way that violates the license terms is a risk to both the university and to your own research. Research publications are subject to rejection if the publishing or funding agencies determine that data was prepared using improperly-licensed software or tools. This unfortunate outcome has happened to Illinois researchers in the past. If you require a particular software title to complete your research, it is your responsibility to ensure that it is properly licensed. If you are unsure of how to license or pay for software required for your research, speak with your group, P.I., and/or advisor, or email engrit-help@illinois.edu for support.

The health and usage of EWS resources are closely monitored. Research activities and any other activities which degrade or threaten the integrity of EWS resources may be actively and/or automatically prevented, have quotas applied to them, or otherwise restricted.

There are many other resources available for your research IT and computing needs. See our article here: https://engrit.illinois.edu/services/research-services/campus-research-computing-options.

 

For further assistance getting connected to research computing resources, please email engrit-help@illinois.edu, and/or contact your department or advisor to find out what facilities are available to you in pursuit of your research.