With laptop ownership on the rise, the Missouri Students Association is discussing ways to make computers more available to MU students.
Run by the Division of Information Techonology, the student laptop loan program allows students to checkout either a PC or a Mac for two hours, free of charge. Students have the ability to checkout laptops from the MU Student Center. While in possession of the laptop, students are unable to leave the building.
The program has had such success that they are now exploring the possibility of including the laptop rental program in residence halls, MSA Senate Speaker Jake Sloan said.
“It’s a student service and I’ve always been an advocate for student services,” MSA Student Affairs Chairman Tyler Ricketts said. “I think it needs to be explored, and I think it needs to become a pilot program initially to determine if it is a feasible option.”
Sixty-six laptops are available for checkout on a daily basis in the student center. According to DoIT, all available laptops are checked out, with MacBooks being the first to become unavailable.
“It has potential if the pilot program is successful and we see that it works,” Ricketts said. “It’s an option worth exploring but I would want to see that pilot program first.”
The idea to allow laptop checkouts in residence halls was developed by Sloan.
“The success of the program at the student center indicated that there is a demand, and we want to see if there is also a demand in the residence halls or not,” Sloan said. “It’s clear that if you go to any of the computer labs that you can see people working there so some might be people who would work in their residence halls.”
The Residence Halls Association has not stated whether or not they support Sloan’s plan. Both MSA and RHA are quick to point out that the idea is still in the planning stage.
“We currently are not very involved in the setup of this laptop checkout process,” RHA President Chris Rucker said. “If people show interest we would more than happily be in full support of this option.”
According to MSA, if the idea is approved they will take the lead in advertising the availability of the computers to students.
“My thought is that I would rather students checkout laptops and go to their room than have to do something in the computer lab,” Sloan said. “Right now this is an idea and I want to see if there is a demand for it.”
Funding for the checkout program comes from the $11.70 technology fee that students pay per credit hour. The average student pays $175 per semester to use or checkout computers on campus.
In 2007, DoIT announced a life cycle commitment that every three years, MU will buy new MacBooks and PCs to replace the older models.
“If 90 percent of students come to campus with laptops, then we don’t need different computers at all the residence halls,” Sloan said. “We’re going to get the statistics, talk with IT and get everyone’s input.”
