College of Design students have another tool to use in their studios to help them complete projects and presentations.

The College of Design has been leasing students laptops for the past year, said Kate Schwennsen, associate dean of the College of Design.

“Students rely on technology for working on projects in class, and we wanted them to have computers with them in class instead of having to go to computer labs to work on projects,” she said. “Students need to be able to access high end machines and programs.”

Leasing laptops to students keeps students in their studios, said Michael Miller, systems support specialist for the College of Design.

“Students were beginning to drift to computer labs and were losing the benefits of being in the studio,” he said.

The College of Design started working on the project four years ago, when researching a way to lease computer programs legally to students, said Miller.

“The only way they could lease packaged programs was to put them on machines which the university owns,” he said.

Schwennsen said students entering their second year in a design program and graduate students are eligible to lease a computer from the college.

“It is a three-year lease,” she said. “After three years, the programs are removed and the students can purchase the laptop for five dollars.”

Students have a choice between which kind of operating system they wish to use, Schwennsen said.

“A couple of our programs prefer the Apple platform, so we are leasing G4s,” she said. “The other computer is a Dell.”

Schwennsen said students benefit from access to a laptop computer.

“Students are making much more advanced presentations,” she said. “It has changed [how class is taught] terrifically.”

James Tuttle, senior in graphic design, said he found out about the program from older students.

“It seemed like a ready-made solution,” he said. “It was more convenient, like renting an apartment with all the furniture. All the amenities are included.”

Tuttle said he uses his computer for checking e-mail, web development, and keeping his life in order, as well as for class use.

“A lot of my core classes for graphic design are computerbased, so a lot of my assignments can only be completed with this computer,” he said.

Schwennsen said students have given positive feedback to the laptop program. She said results of a summer survey were very positive.

Miller said the program’s success is evident by the increase in leases over the past year.

“We went from 87 [leases] last year to 139 this year,” he said. “These students are from graphic design, landscape architecture, and architecture, and this represents 70 percent of students in these programs.”

Although Tuttle thinks leasing his laptop was a good idea, he has some concerns with the program.

“Sometimes I have to be on campus for the serial numbers for the programs to work right with the wireless access, so it can be inconvenient,” he said.