Body
Purpose
To enable the college to fulfill its fiscal stewardship obligations by provisioning standardized computer hardware to all full-time faculty and administrative staff. Adherence to this policy allows the college to take advantage of volume discounts and to optimize support services within fiscal constraints, and limits the proliferation of unsupported electronic devices.
Summary Statement
- The college will assign a single, standard-configuration computer to each administrative staff member and full-time faculty.
- Any additional costs for exceptions to this assignment will be borne by the department requesting the exception.
- Computers provisioned by MassArt are for use by faculty and staff in the delivery of academic programs or the performing of administrative functions in support of the institution's mission.
- All computers are the property of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as such are subject to any rules and regulations regarding government assets.
- New computers are not guaranteed. While the Technology department makes every effort to deploy new computers, on occasion it is necessary to redeploy a computer that has been used elsewhere at the college.
Details
Administrative Staff
All full time administrative staff are assigned a Windows-based computer (laptop or desktop), pre-loaded with college-supported software. Requests for a Macintosh computer can be requested, but must support the departmental software and programs. Any changes or additions to this assignment must be approved by the CIO and by the area Vice-President for the department requesting the change. Any costs associated with a change to this assignment will be borne by the requesting department. Staff requesting a laptop may also request a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to connect to the laptop in the office.
Provisioning may occur with new computers or with computers that are re-purposed from other uses at the college.
Faculty
All full-time, benefited faculty will receive a campus standard laptop computer, pre-loaded with college-supported software. The laptop may be Macintosh or Windows-based. Faculty members may also request a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to connect to the laptop. Faculty members may also request a desktop computer in place of a laptop. Faculty requiring a second computer, whether a desktop or laptop, must fund that purchase from their departmental budget. Any faculty member requesting a more advanced system must get the approval of the area Chair and the difference in cost for funding the new system must come from the departmental budget of that faculty member.
Non-benefited faculty are not eligible for a MassArt-assigned computer at this time.
Additional Information
The Technology Department annually determines base configuration levels for new purchases that balance functionality and cost. Volume purchasing of standard computers is usually completed in the summer, in preparation for the fiscal year's planned implementations of new and refreshed hardware.
A department wishing to purchase a non-standard or additional computer should contact the Technology Department as early in the planning process as possible. Non-standard computers must be approved by the CIO in order to be supported. The Technology Department will complete the purchase on the department's behalf after the additional or difference in funding has been transferred to the Technology budget and work with the college's Administrative Services department to tag and inventory the computer as college assets upon receipt.