3 insights to inform laptop program design and administration for IT leaders

Last spring, colleges and universities quickly learned that some students were not equipped with the right technology to make the transition to online learning due to COVID-19. IT units then scrambled to loan laptops and other devices to wanting students. In preparation of online or hybrid learning Fall semesters, institutions like Bowdoin University and UC Berkeley proactively sent laptops or tablets to students. While COVID-19 may have driven colleges and universities to run these one-time, pseudo-laptop programs, it has also prompted institutions to contemplate the utility of these programs long-term.

In an age where laptops are arguably a student’s most important educational tool, institutions are witnessing firsthand how laptop programs address student access and equity issues. As such, higher ed may be shifting towards a model in line with K-12 schools, where technology like laptops is treated as an essential need and is often provisioned by schools. Fortunately, modern technological capabilities have significantly reduced the price and burden of administering laptop programs.