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Hardware & Software :: Laptop Programs

No Digital Divide

1/1/2008

By Rama Ramaswami

Jones emphasizes that the availability of support was a key consideration in the university's selection of a vendor. "For higher education, it is critical to select a partner who can add value to the laptop or tablet PC program, as opposed to selecting a vendor based on price alone," he says. "A manufacturer-sponsored, in-house repair program is important to the success of a student laptop program, as is having a vendor that is responsive to needs and issues that may arise." Lack of support can prevent students from using a laptop to optimal advantage; if technical problems are not solved quickly and easily, students are less likely to understand and benefit from a laptop's features.

In addition, vendor-sponsored laptop/tablet programs "offer a cost-effective way of placing the latest technology into the hands of students," says Jones. "Volume pricing agreements allow universities to obtain laptops or tablets at a much better price than students could get on the open market." The university passes on those savings-amounting to 15 to 20 percent-to the student, and a lower price means that more students are able to lease or purchase the machines.

Gold Standards

THE AVAILABILITY OF a manufacturer-sponsored, in-house repair program was a key consideration in Morehead State's selection of a vendor for its laptop/tablet program.

Partnerships can also support a standardization of technology; a welcome solution to the problem of IT integration. Controlling hardware choices enables universities to run unified IT shops that are increasingly coming to resemble commercial IT departments-a comparison that GCC's DiStasi makes. "It's really like running IT in a company," he says. "It's not going to be Macs versus PCs versus Linux- we've standardized the products. We don't want to buy consumer devices; we buy commercial machines because they're more stable. All the machines we buy are on the enterprise side. They all have the same parts, the same docking stations. That reduces our total cost of ownership."

Standardization benefits students as well as the university, Morehead State's Jones points out. Students' personal laptops do not afford the same benefits as the campus-supplied machines, he says: "Often, students do not understand the difference between personal and business-class machines, and make purchase decisions based on cost alone. Acquiring a tablet PC through our campus program ensures a student will get a high-quality machine and have access to on-site repair facilities. Quick turnaround is vital when the student depends on the tablet PC for homework and classes." In addition, says Jones, using a laptop that the college provides ensures that the machine is loaded with the correct software and integrates properly with other campus resources such as the wireless network.