2008 Woodie Awards
Student Laptop Center offers free services
Janine Camara
Issue date: 10/3/06 Section: Campus News
On Sept. 22 at 10:30 a.m., UNCG's new Laptop Support Center (LSC) held its Grand Opening Ceremony. The ceremony included a ribbon cutting, refreshments and a tour of the newly instated center located in McIver, Room 354.
The center is a facet of UNCG's Student Laptop Initiative (SLI), a program conceived by Vice Provost Uprichard and the Deans Council. SLI allows students to purchase "fully-featured" laptop computers from IBM/Lenovo and Apple with the benefit of a student discount. The LSC provides on-campus service and consulting only for students who've purchased laptops through the initiative.
In addition to the installment of the LSC, SLI also requires incoming freshmen, in the fall of 2007, to purchase laptops either through the initiative or bring a device that meets the program's software and hardware requisites.
"They understand the growing needs of the classroom," said Veronica Norville, IT Manager of Student Computing, of the Dean Council's and Uprichard's choice to implement SLI. According to a project mandate, found on the SLI portion of ITS's website, the "laptop program is an outgrowth of the rapidly maturing mobile computing environment on campus."
Plans to begin the initiative have been in the works since last school year.
"We were very meticulous," said Norville, who was a member of the project team created to help establish SLI at UNCG. She and her team members spent over 14 months planning and researching. They visited schools like neighboring Wake Forest University and UNC-Chapel Hill - each with established SLIs.
Response to the LSC, which has been operational since this past summer, has been positive according to Norville.
"We've been very pleased, we've been very fortunate," continued Norville. She also serves as manager of the LSC.
"They love it, it pays for itself," said Scott James, a shift leader at the LSC, of student response to the center. James is one of two full-time shift leaders that staff the center, as well as five student employees and several ITS technicians who support the center on a rotational basis. Thus far, the center has serviced or provided consultation for approximately 95 laptops since Aug. 9.
The center is a facet of UNCG's Student Laptop Initiative (SLI), a program conceived by Vice Provost Uprichard and the Deans Council. SLI allows students to purchase "fully-featured" laptop computers from IBM/Lenovo and Apple with the benefit of a student discount. The LSC provides on-campus service and consulting only for students who've purchased laptops through the initiative.
In addition to the installment of the LSC, SLI also requires incoming freshmen, in the fall of 2007, to purchase laptops either through the initiative or bring a device that meets the program's software and hardware requisites.
"They understand the growing needs of the classroom," said Veronica Norville, IT Manager of Student Computing, of the Dean Council's and Uprichard's choice to implement SLI. According to a project mandate, found on the SLI portion of ITS's website, the "laptop program is an outgrowth of the rapidly maturing mobile computing environment on campus."
Plans to begin the initiative have been in the works since last school year.
"We were very meticulous," said Norville, who was a member of the project team created to help establish SLI at UNCG. She and her team members spent over 14 months planning and researching. They visited schools like neighboring Wake Forest University and UNC-Chapel Hill - each with established SLIs.
Response to the LSC, which has been operational since this past summer, has been positive according to Norville.
"We've been very pleased, we've been very fortunate," continued Norville. She also serves as manager of the LSC.
"They love it, it pays for itself," said Scott James, a shift leader at the LSC, of student response to the center. James is one of two full-time shift leaders that staff the center, as well as five student employees and several ITS technicians who support the center on a rotational basis. Thus far, the center has serviced or provided consultation for approximately 95 laptops since Aug. 9.
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