The T.A./T.F. Role and Getting Help

You and/or your T.A./T.F. should be available and prepared to answer your students’ questions about using the SCC. If you or your T.A./T.F. have questions, we are happy to troubleshoot with either of you. Student questions regarding SCC usage should be handled first by the T.A./T.F. before being directed to RCS.

We also have an Academic Support Service FAQ which may help you and your students with common questions related to course projects.

For questions that you and your T.A./T.F. need assistance with, please send email to help@scc.bu.edu. Requests are answered and in-person help are available during business hours: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 5 pm.

T.A./T.F. Training

RCS can help get your T.A./T.F. prepare to support your course which uses the SCC. Please have your T.A./T.F. send mail to help@scc.bu.edu to set up an appointment for individual training.

In-Classroom Instruction

RCS staff can come to your class and provide training sessions for your course. Topics include Intro to SCC, Linux, Python, R, MATLAB, as well as custom topics. RCS requires a two-week lead time for standard tutorials and a two-month lead for custom tutorials. To request instruction for courses using the SCC, please fill in the In-Classroom Instruction section of the semesterly course request form at least two weeks before the semester starts. To request instruction for courses not using the SCC, please fill in the instruction-only request form to arrange for training; please also do this two weeks in advance. An RCS staff member will contact you to discuss your needs and establish a plan.

RCS offers a semesterly training series for the research community which academic course faculty and T.A.s/T.F.s are welcome to attend. If you would like this sort of training for your course, please do not send your students to the trainings, instead, request instruction for your course through one of the forms described above.

Learning Resources

RCS/SCC web pages (rcs.bu.edu) contain extensive information on using the SCC including recommendations for running Python, MATLAB, R, and C code on the cluster.

Cheat Sheets

Videos

Zoom recordings and slides from the semesterly RCS Training Series are available. Access requires agreeing to the usage policy.

Self-Paced Tutorials

Self-paced tutorials developed by RCS staff, NCSA, vendors, and others are available.