Computer Allocation Policy

Purpose

This policy supports the adoption of new technologies that empower faculty and staff by providing and regularly replacing desktop computers for eligible faculty and staff.

Eligible Faculty and Staff

People eligible to receive allocated computers are in one of three categories:
   • Voting faculty
   • Permanent staff with a 50 percent or greater appointment and that report through the Dean’s Office (Finance, CSS, CTC, EDPC, EES, SDC). Not in this category include staff in CCAD, CGRER, IIHR, and research units.
   • Others as designated by the Dean’s Office

Program

The goal is to provide faculty and staff with office computers that are no more then four years old. The actual number of computers replaced annually will depend on the funds allocated by the College and the number of faculty and staff participating in the program.

Conditions

Allocated Computer

This policy allocates and replaces only College-administered desktop computers. No portables or servers will be allocated, and no substitutions of the hardware model will be allowed.

Because these computers are meant to help employees be productive, the computer must be in the individual’s primary office for use by the employee. When the individual to whom a computer was allocated leaves the College or no longer uses the allocated computer, the computer returns to the College for reassignment.

Users can purchase items such as additional memory, a hard drive, an optical mouse or keyboard, and a scanner to use with an allocated computer. Those items remain the property of the purchaser and do not revert to the College when the computer is replaced or reassigned. Faculty that opt out of the College computer renewal program must return the College-allocated computer if one was assigned to them.

Allocated Computer Process

Groups

The eligible faculty and staff form six groups: the five academic departments (BME, CBE, CEE, ECE, MIE), and the rest of the eligible staff. For allocation purposes, the secretarial support staff of a department are treated as members of that department. Faculty may opt out of the program, reducing the size of the eligible group for that unit. When a faculty member opts out of the program, he/she is assigned inactive status. Faculty on the inactive list can rejoin the annual renewal program during the next renewal cycle.

Allocation

As long as funding allows, the number of new computers available for each group will be equal to the number of computers that will be four years or more old at the renewal time. Each year college administration will inform the unit managers/directors of the number of new computers allocated to their unit. The renewal computers will replace the oldest computers in the group in any given year. For academic departments the DEO can request a change to the computer allocation list for the new computers.

updated: 27 May 2006