College-Owned Computers

The goal of hardware acquisition is to ensure that appropriate computing resources are available in public and departmental computing facilities, classrooms, and college offices to support the mission of the institution; ensure that each faculty and staff member who uses computing resources in his or her position has a computer of sufficient capability to fulfill his/her responsibilities; implement minimum standards for computing equipment on campus, and encourage planning, cost-effective installation of new equipment and disposal of old equipment.

Following are the College’s guidelines on computer provision and replacement:

Guidelines

Full-time Faculty and Staff Computers

  • Faculty and staff computers are refreshed on a regular cycle established by the College (currently 4 years). This refresh cycle pertains to computers assigned to all tenure-track and tenured faculty as well as faculty on 5-year rolling contracts and all full-time staff.
  • ITS will select the standards for the base Macintosh and Windows computer configuration for the year. Minor adjustments to the configuration may be made as the year progresses due to availability or changes initiated by the vendor If upgrades are required, additional funding sources must be sought by the department.
  • Eligible staff and faculty will be sent a notice when his/her computer is up for replacement. The notice will delineate the specifications for the base machine.
  • Once new systems have arrived from the vendors, Client Services Desktop Support staff will work with the recipients to determine a time that is convenient for swapping out the old computer and replacing it with the new one.

New Faculty Computers

  • When a new faculty member is hired, a letter from ITS will be sent, via the Dean’s Office, to the new faculty member describing the College’s policies and procedures regarding the provision of a computer for the faculty member’s use. The letter will delineate the specifications for the base machine and indicate that faculty may request upgrades to the base computer, but must discuss funding sources with the Dean’s Office (Associate Dean) prior to placing the upgrade request. The letter will clearly state that information must be received by ITS no later than 1 June to insure delivery and installation by the start of classes.
  • New faculty will then be placed on the regular replacement cycle.

New Staff Computers

When a new staff member is hired, the hiring manager will coordinate with Client Services personnel in ITS to determine if an existing computer in the department or a surplus computer in ITS will suffice until such time as the next new fiscal year begins.

Visiting and Part-time Faculty Computer Policy

The Dean’s Office will compile a list of visiting and part-time faculty annually in order to coordinate the distribution of available recycled computers. Computers for part-time faculty and visiting faculty on 1-, 2- or 3-year contracts will be those that are available after replacement of the open/general use computer labs which ITS operates (see computer lab replacement schedule in the following section). Priorities for the reuse of these recycled computers have been established.

Open, General Use Labs

The equipment in these labs is refreshed on a cycle determined by the Computer Resources Manager at ITS, generally three to four years. First priority for these recycled computers will go to full-time visiting faculty, followed by faculty research laboratories, followed by part-time faculty.

Non Public Computer Labs

Non Public Computer Labs are those that are under the aegis of specific departments and used for teaching, research or work group activities.

Currently, non public computer labs are on a regular refresh cycle if they have already been negotiated with ITS. However, before the creation of a non public computer lab, if it is to be eligible for this program, a formal request must be submitted either to the Associate Dean or relevant Vice-President. Requests will undergo a review process by the Executive Director of ITS, the Associate Dean or relevant Vice-President with input from the Director of Client Services or Computer Resources Manager. Requests must be justified in terms of the special needs met by the lab that cannot be met by existing labs on campus.

Technology Enhanced Classrooms

All existing technology enhanced classrooms are on a regular replacement cycle (normally three to five years, depending on the piece of equipment). If a department wishes to make a formal request for an additional technology enhanced classroom, the request should be made to the Dean’s Office (Associate Dean) by September for consideration for the following fiscal year.

The addition of new technology enhanced classrooms as well as the replacement or upgrade of existing technology enhanced classrooms will be based on a review by the Dean’s Office and the Registrar of the current use and demand.

Faculty Research Computers/Workstations

Faculty with computers in their laboratories should look first to research incentive funds, set aside by the College from external grants, to secure replacement computer equipment.

If no research incentive funds are available, computers or workstations for use in faculty research laboratories may be available from the replacement cycle of the open/general use computer labs that ITS operates. Requests for such equipment will be solicited each Fall semester. Requests are due in the Associate Dean’s Office on November 15. Requests will be reviewed by the Executive Director of ITS and the Associate Dean.

Student Assistant Workstations

Departmental student assistant workstations will be provided from the ITS from trickle-down computers provided ITS has any available. If a department requires newer or different technology than what ITS can provide from its surplus inventory, the Department will be responsible for providing the budget for acquisition of that technology.

Lost or Stolen Laptops

In the case of laptops that are lost, ITS will make every effort to provide a desktop computer from the recycle pool for the staff member’s use until the staff member’s slot comes up on the regular replacement cycle, or the department may choose to pay for the replacement of the laptop.

Emeriti Faculty Computers

Emeriti faculty who will occupy an office on campus after retirement may opt to take his or her existing desktop or laptop computer to the new office. ITS staff will set up the computer in the new location and the computer will receive ITS staff support until the computer is 4 years old. Emeriti faculty will not be included in the regular faculty computer replacement cycle.

Mid-Replacement Cycle Hardware Upgrades

Minor upgrades to computer hardware that need to be made because of changes in the requirements of a faculty or staff members work will be handled by ITS. Typically, such upgrades include additional memory, increased disk space, etc. In all cases, the costs of the required upgrades will be weighed against the age of the computer and the cost of a complete replacement.