CORRECTION (09/25/2013): The article below notes that the decision to eliminate the laptop and iPad programs at BVU has been finalized; however, that decision has not officially been made yet.
Meghan Harmening | Opinion Co-Editor
In the past week, some shocking news has been relayed to Buena Vista University’s (BVU) Student Senate and the Admissions Office. No longer will BVU be supplying laptops and iPads to incoming freshmen. For some of us, this news is a downer, as many have long awaited this much-needed update in technology. The most frustrating part? Had I not been on Student Senate, I would still assume the end of this school year would bring the computer update we have all been depending on.
It seems as though the faculty and staff who made this decision to cut this program did not take much consideration of their current students. According to a survey done around the BVU campus, 52% of students said the laptop and iPad program played a significant role in their decision to attend BVU. Some market research has shown that most students would prefer to purchase their own technological devices; however, this statistic doesn’t match with the opinions of the BVU student body. This simple survey I conducted shows this would affect over 400 current students based on their significant factors in choosing a school.
“I understand why they’re doing it, but the fact that they still haven’t made an official announcement about it, and that it seems, for the most part, they are gathering data from outside the university seems a bit dismissive. You should care more for your current students than your prospective ones,” says sophomore Josh Fortmann.
And it’s true; we are the reason that BVU stands today. Market research should mean very little to BVU if their current students are the ones unhappy with the situation.
Although the end to this program has already been voted on, many students, including myself, feel that some of the detriments may not have fully been considered. For example, this may be the end of 2FIX as we know it. It takes two months to become a fully certified technician for HPs and roughly six months for Macs. If each student has a different computer, how are we to get the quality help and troubleshooting we need to fix our laptops in a timely manner if we don’t have several experts at hand?
In addition, many universities that do not provide laptops for their students have other technology resources at hand such as computer labs. As far as I know, this has not been presented as an alternative. Because BVU is known as a wireless campus (yet another reason why many choose to attend BVU), laptops are a viable option for getting homework done; however, I do not believe that a university can require students to purchase a laptop and all of the programs that go along with it in order to be able to do homework.
Overall, the change seems to have come hastily and without due consideration for the opinions of the current student body. While I understand why the school went through with the cost-saving measure, in the future, I would hope the administration would be more open and forthcoming on its decisions that affect the entire student body.
Graphic by Grace Bodey
