Overview

Zoom is a full-featured web collaboration tool available to all Texas A&M University students and employees (Parts 02, 10 and 23). Stream your lecture, meet with your team, or have a quick one-on-one meeting with high quality audio and video. Zoom recording allows you to caption and save a video for future reference or send to those unable to attend.

Zoom also features intuitive screen sharing, whiteboarding and much more. Non-University participants are able to join meetings without an account, or can create a free account.

Your FREE Texas A&M Zoom Pro Account Includes:

  • Unlimited video meetings with up to 300 video participants
  • Larger meeting options are available for an additional fee
  • Call-in number for phone-only attendees
  • Local or cloud (1GB) recording options
  • Ability to share audio, video, and screen in meetings

Zoom Rooms

Zoom Rooms are video conference room systems for meeting rooms or classrooms. They provide an integrated experience for audio conferencing, wireless screen sharing and video conferencing. Zoom Rooms can be used for room only attendees or remote attendees joining from another room, from their desktop, or from their mobile device. Texas A&M University plans to implement Zoom Rooms in certain classrooms throughout the summer!

Getting Started

Your account is ready! You simply need your NetID and password to log in.

Downloading the client to your computer provides the most seamless experience. To get started, visit https://tamu.zoom.us/download. Click Download Zoom Client for Meetings. Once installed, click Sign In with SSO. Type tamu in the box before .zoom.us. Click Continue. Log in with your NetID and password.

Visit the App Store, Google Play, or https://tamu.zoom.us.

"If you will host meetings that contain any type of personal health information (PHI), whether or not the meeting is recorded, you should not use Zoom."

Data Security

FERPA Compliant
Yes
HIPAA Compliant
No
Highest Supported Data Classification
Confidential

Contact Information

Email
helpdesk@tamu.edu
Phone
General help: 979.845.8300; Integration with Canvas: 979.458.3417

Cost

Zoom Pro accounts are available to all Texas A&M University students and employees (Parts 02, 10 and 23). 

FAQ

Who can use Zoom?

A free Zoom Pro account is available to all students, faculty and staff (Parts 02, 10 and 23) at Texas A&M University. Your account is created upon logging in for the first time. Non-University participants are able to join meetings without an account, or can create a free Zoom Basic account at http://zoom.us.

How do I download the Zoom client to my computer?

Downloading the client to your computer provides the most seamless experience. To get started, visit https://tamu.zoom.us/download. Click Download Zoom Client for Meetings. Once installed, click Sign In with SSO. Type tamu in the box before .zoom.us. Click Continue. Log in with your NetID and password.

What is a Zoom Room?

Zoom Rooms are video conference room systems for meeting rooms or classrooms. They provide an integrated experience for audio conferencing, wireless screen sharing and video conferencing. Zoom Rooms can be used for attendees in the room, or remote attendees can join from another room, from their desktop, or from their mobile device. Video breakout rooms, multi-sharing, polling and group chats provide true hybrid classroom learning. Professors can opt-in to using the Zoom Room technology. Texas A&M University plans to implement Zoom Rooms in certain classrooms throughout the summer!

Can I use Zoom to Live Stream a class or presentation?

Definitely! Zoom sessions are limited to 300 video participants, but you can pay for larger groups or to stream using Facebook Live.

How many meetings can I schedule on my account at once?

Your Zoom account can have as many meetings as you want, but only one active meeting can take place at a time. Be mindful of scheduling overlapping Zoom meetings on your account, as the later meeting will not be available until the earlier meeting completes.

How do I record a meeting in Zoom?

Zoom meetings can be recorded from the desktop versions of the application (Mac OSX, Windows). You can choose to have your meeting recorded during the meeting set-up process, or activate it once the meeting starts. Only the host can record a meeting unless they select other to have “record” permissions in the settings.  

Click the Record button in the main video window. By default, only a host can record a meeting. A host can allow other meeting participants to record through the Participants pop-up menu.

Click Participants, then hover over a user’s name and click More and then Allow Record to let that user record the meeting.

*Note: You will have to keep Zoom open after the meeting to allow it to process and save the video file. A progress bar will appear after you leave the meeting to show you how long this will take.

How long are recorded meetings on my account available?

A recording can either be stored locally on your computer or on the cloud.

Can I schedule Zoom meetings directly from Outlook?

Yes, an Outlook plugin and a Zoom scheduler for Office 365 are available to make scheduling easier.

Does Zoom work with all devices?

Zoom runs across Mac, PC, Apple iOS, Android, Blackberry, and H.323 systems.

Does Zoom have any requirements for operating systems, devices and/or internet bandwidth?

Yes, Zoom Videoconferencing has requirements for user operating systems, devices, internet bandwidth and more. Visit support.zoom.us for the full details on all requirements.

Can I invite people outside Texas A&M to join a meeting or class?

Definitely! Participants do not need a NetID to join a Zoom meeting. Only the host of the meeting needs to have a Texas A&M Zoom account.

Can I add Closed Captioning to a meeting or class?

Yes! You can request a transcript of your recording. Additionally, another participant or a professional caption provider can add live captions. Find out more at the Zoom Help Center.

What is the difference between the Zoom meetings application and the web portal (tamu.zoom.us)?

The options you enable on the meeting settings page in the Zoom web portal determine what tools are available to you in all your meetings and webinars. Be sure to review and enable the tools you may want to use, such as co-hosts, alternative hosts, polls, etc. before you start a session. Any tools or features that are disabled on this page will not be available to you in any of your meetings or webinars.

What happens to my Zoom account if I don’t use it?

Zoom accounts are reviewed for activity on a monthly basis. Any account that has no activity for a period of six (6) months will be changed from "Licensed" to "Basic." This change does not remove or disable the account, but simply makes it the same as a free account. If the user logs into Zoom again, the account is automatically changed back to "Licensed."

What happens to my Zoom account after graduating from or leaving Texas A&M? 

Two weeks after the end of each semester (Fall/Spring/Summer II) the list of current Zoom users is compared against the list of students, faculty and staff who have separated from the university since the previous review. Zoom accounts associated with these individuals will be "unlinked" from TAMU Zoom. This changes the account to a "Basic" account and removes it from the TAMU Zoom instance. Individuals have the option of keeping this Zoom account or transferring their data (settings, recordings, etc.) to another personal account.

Requirements

Zoom Videoconferencing has requirements for user operating systems, devices, internet bandwidth and more. Visit support.zoom.us for full details on all requirements.

Version Requirement

Beginning Aug. 5, 2023, you will not be able to log in or join meetings from versions prior to 5.3.0. Please be sure to update to the latest version of Zoom software to ensure you are able to participate in virtual meetings hosted via the platform. 

Follow these four simple steps to confirm which version of Zoom is downloaded for each of your devices:

  • Navigate to the Zoom desktop client
  • Click your profile picture
  • Select Help
  • Select About Zoom 

Follow these three simple steps to ensure you are operating with the latest version of Zoom for each of your devices:

  • Navigate to the Zoom desktop client
  • Click your profile picture
  • Select Check for Updates
    • If an update is available, follow the on-screen prompts to download and complete the update

Bandwidth Requirements

The bandwidth used by Zoom will be optimized for the best experience based on the participants’ network. It will automatically adjust for 3G, WiFi or Wired environments.

Recommended bandwidth for meetings and webinar panelists:

  • For 1:1 video calling:
    • 600kbps (up/down) for high quality video
    • 1.2 Mbps (up/down) for 720p HD video
    • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down)
    • Sending 1080p HD video requires 1.8 Mbps (up/down)
  • For group video calling:
    • 800kbps/1.0Mbps (up/down) for high quality video
    • For gallery view and/or 720p HD video: 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps (up/down)
    • Receiving 1080p HD video requires 2.5mbps (up/down)
    • Sending 1080p HD video requires 3.0 Mbps (up/down)
  • For screen sharing only (no video thumbnail): 50-75kbps
  • For screen sharing with video thumbnail: 50-150kbps
  • For audio VoiP: 60-80kbps
  • For Zoom Phone: 60-100kbps
Was this page helpful?