I have a persistent problem with a students using Excel in on-campus labs,
and occasionally it occurs on students' own computers.

The issue arises around setting the format of cells to the format where
minus numbers display with (234) instead of -234

In a lab of 34 students, typically around 30 of them will be able to achieve
this by either clicking on the formatting $ or , (comma) number format
shortcut, or by setting the format to Accounting or Currency on the Format
dialog box.

However, for a few students, there are no formats that include the ( ) for
minus numbers. Changing the language does not work for these students. It is
possible to type in a long custom format by copying the custom format from
another student's excel, but that's the only thing that succeeds.

If the student having the problem logs onto another computer, the problem
will persist. If another student logs onto the computer, there will be no
problem for that student