Starting the Fall ’23 semester, all freshmen were offered new Dell laptops.

Eastern was offered a grant fund initiative for one year for the new laptops and Josh Norman, Vice President for Enrollment Management, thought about how to help students.

Due to the grant being funded by the federal funds, the new laptops were only available to domestic students.

“And so, the funds had specific stipulations from the standpoint of you know, they had to be US residents in order to be able to take advantage of the grant funds and then in lieu the laptops and so we basically allowed every incoming freshman have the option to have the free laptop,” Norman said.

Norman said that ten percent of students did not want the new laptops.

With the deal, Dell provided a maintenance plan through the four years that the students have the computers, so that students do not have to worry about their computer messing up.

“We’re really excited about getting that maintenance plan,” Norman said. “It’s been great for the students. huge kudos to the library, and information technology services and admissions, they all work together to handle distribution during move in a week, and it really went seamlessly and so students were super excited to get their laptops. I really wish we could do it every year, but again, these weren’t institutional funds. They were brand funds that funded these laptops.”

The computers were provided with the necessities for students to do their work, bug some do not have the programs for some majors such as graphic design.

“We made sure that students knew [that like,] ‘Hey, you may be in a program where you need a higher power computer,’ but the specs on it is pretty great,” Norman said.

Students are able to keep the computers once they graduate.

Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].