Zoom is Pacific's official system for online, video-based meetings.
Table of Contents
Accounts
Devices
Features and Options
Troubleshooting
Recommendations
Security & Compliance
Accounts
A: For free accounts, meetings with more than 2 participants (including yourself) will be limited to 40 minutes. There is no limit on one-on-one meetings. For paid host accounts, there is no time limit on any meetings. In addition, free accounts cannot record meetings in the cloud (they can record to their local computer) and free accounts cannot be named a co-host for a meeting.
A: You and all participants will recieve warnings that the meeting is about to end. At 40 minutes, the meeting will be ended and everyone disconnected. After two minutes, you as the host and all participants can rejoin the meeting, using the same meeting ID, as if it was a just-started meeting. If you build a planned break into your long meetings (e.g. a 5 minute break every 30 minutes in which you End the meeting) the disruption can be planned for and limited.
A: Pacific University faculty and staff and students only need to sign up with their PUNet ID and password at https://pacificu.zoom.us.
A: No. You can choose the “Enable join before host” option when scheduling the meeting. This will allow any participant with the meeting ID to join at any time. There are two problems with selecting this option. The first is that a meeting without a Host does not have someone who can do things like allow participants to record or mute participants who are producing unwanted sounds. The second is that participants can join and start the meeting at any time, which may conflict with other meetings (see the question “Zoom says my meeting can’t start because the Host already has another meeting in progress. What should I do?” below).
A: Yes, but only if they have paid host accounts. Enter their email addresses in the Alternative Hosts section while scheduling your meetings.
A: Yes. When you go to leave the meeting, Zoom will prompt you to pass host privileges to another participant. You can pass host privileges to any other participant in a live meeting (they do not have to have a paid host account) and then can leave the meeting. If you rejoin the meeting at a later time, you will have the option to regain your host status.
A: No. This would be a violation of Zoom licensing.
Devices
A: Meeting participants (including hosts) can connect using the Zoom app on Windows or Mac computers, iOS devices (e.g. iPads, iPhones) and Android devices. If the meeting settings allow it, participants can also dial in via phone.
A: Yes, the Forest Grove and Hillsboro Helpdesk locations have Zoom-compatible webcams (with built-in microphones) that can be checked out at no cost to students, faculty and staff. You can also reserve a microphone in advance for an upcoming meeting.
A: For single-person participation in a Zoom meeting, the built-in webcam and microphone in a laptop, phone or tablet is usually sufficient. For small meeting rooms, the Helpdesk recommends the Anivia 1080p webcam, which is Mac and PC compatible. If purchasing these, UIS also recommends purchasing USB extender cables.
A: On the Forest Grove campus, the MPR, Berglund 200, Tran 207 and Tran 201 are set up with additional Zoom capabilities. Zoom is incorporated into the room’s sound system, speakers and pan-tilt-zoom camera.
Other rooms are Zoom friendly, with room cameras and microphones available from the podium computers. This includes ITF 132 and HPC 165 on the Hillsboro campus, and Jefferson 221, 223 and 224, Scott 204, Taylor Meade 229 and Marsh 216 on the Forest Grove.
For other classrooms with smart podiums, you can log into Zoom via the podium computer and use the attached webcam and microphone.
Meeting rooms and classrooms with AV systems allow users to connect a laptop to the room’s AV system or (with appropriate adapters) a tablet or phone. You can thus connect to a Zoom meeting in one of these rooms via your laptop, tablet or phone, or if you do not have an appropriate device you can borrow a laptop from the Forest Grove Helpdesk or the Hillsboro Library.
For more information on the AV capabilities of different rooms see our page on Classroom & Meeting Room Technology.
Features and Options
A: A normal host account can be used for webinar-like meetings (many participants viewing one presenter). There is also an optional Webinar feature that can be added to any Host account for a price starting at $40/month (depending on the number of participants) which gives additional capabilities specifically suited to webinars. For more on the webinar feature, see https://zoom.us/webinar. For more on the differences between regular meetings and Zoom webinars, see this page.
UIS does maintain a single 500 participant Zoom license which can be temporarily assigned, on a first-come-first-serve basis, to users who have one-off events.
A: Yes. Giving people your Personal Meeting ID (found in your Account Profile) will allow them to join a meeting with you at any time. You could potentially keep the Zoom app connected to that meeting at all times. If you are not connected to that meeting, an email will be sent to you informing you that someone is waiting in your personal meeting room.
A: Up to 300. Contact the Helpdesk if you have an upcoming meeting you expect to have more than 300 participants.
A: Yes. So long as you keep the Audio setting as Both (default) or Telephone, any and all participants can dial in via phone, including the host. If your meeting requires a host to be present, be sure to look up and enter your Host Key (found in your Zoom account settings: https://zoom.us/profile).
Troubleshooting
A: Zoom host licenses can only have two meetings going at any given time. If two meetings are going, another meeting, even one scheduled to start at that time, will not begin. This can happen if a previous meeting has gone long. It can also happen if the Host has selected the “Enable join before host” option on another meeting and a participant/invitee in that meeting has decided to join that meeting outside of the meeting’s scheduled start and end times. The only solution is for the Host to log into and end the conflicting meeting.
A: Zoom has changed their settings so that cloud recording share links, by default, have a password. To access the recording, someone needs the link and the password. Note that Zoom storage space is limited, so UIS recommends putting recordings in Box or Google Drive and sharing from there.
Recommendations
A: We recommend a user connect 15 minutes in advance of the meeting and use the built-in tools to test his or her speakers or microphone. We suggest the use of headphones for Zoom meetings.
Security & Compliance
A: Protected Data Zoom is a special instance of Zoom which is locked down in ways our normal Zoom instance is not in order to prevent accidental sharing of confidential information or accidental violations of security policy. See our article on Protected Data Zoom for more information.
A: This means that someone has joined your meeting who is logged in with a non-Pacific account from an institution that archives recordings of all meetings that institution's members engage in. If you allow the person to stay in the meeting, the meeting proceeds will be recorded and that recording will exist outside Pacific University control. You should not allow a user with Archiving to join a meeting where Patient Health Information will be discussed, or any other meeting for which it is not appropriate for others to have access to recordings. You might suggest that the person join the meeting from a not-logged-in Zoom app or using the "join from your browser" function.
See Also
Pacific University faculty, staff and students can Contact Support