Information Technology Services

Student Laptop Requirement

Student Laptop Program

In an effort to prepare our students for a mobile technology workforce and to enhance the student's experience within the campus community, Lander University has a laptop requirement.  Owning your own laptop will open endless possibilities for connecting to the Internet, your Lander e-mail account, instant messaging, taking on-line courses, in-class note-taking, on-line discussion groups, research, access to course registration, class schedules, course syllabi and more.

The Information Technology Services Department (ITS) at Lander invites you to shop around and compare prices on laptops.  There are not any hard and fast specifications that you need to follow for your purchase.  Almost any new laptop, as long as you avoid the really cheap ones, should be fine.  It doesn’t have to be the most expensive laptop either. 

What to look for:

As you start looking for laptops the first thing you want to do is to set a budget.  You want to avoid the bargain basement laptops and go with something you trust.  If you’ve had good luck with Dell, HP, Gateway, or Lenovo in the past stick with them.  You may or may not want to take your son or daughter to the store and see what they like as well.  Of course they are the one that has to deal with the laptop for four years, and they may prefer a lighter laptop over a larger screen or have other ideas about their laptop. 

You can see most brands at Best Buy, Circuit City, and even Wal-Mart, but usually you get a better quality laptop if you purchase straight from the manufacturer’s website (e.g. www.dell.com, or www.hp.com).  It is highly recommend that you purchase an extended warranty with whatever laptop you choose, preferably with accident protection.  You may also need to purchase the Home and Student version of Microsoft Office.  They will make use of it in many classes.  Both Windows XP and Vista work fine here on campus. 

We currently have specials with both MPC/Gateway and Dell.  You can find these specials by following the links below.

For Dell visit www.dell.com/epp and enter Member ID SS35423709

For MPC/Gateway visit www.mpccorp.com/landeruniversity

Here are some recommendations to get you started:

Recap:

Here is a quick summary of what to look for:

• The Operating System must be at least Windows XP.  All flavors (e.g. Home, Business, Ultimate) of Vista and XP are acceptable.
• Stick with a reputable brand and avoid really cheap laptops.
• Purchase an extended warranty preferably with accident protection.  Accidents happen and laptops fail,  a warranty will save a lot of headaches later on.
• Purchase Microsoft Office.  The Home and Student Edition should be fine.  You may be able to save money here if you have a copy for your home computer.  It's often licensed for up to three computers. 

Many manufacturers will provide financing if needed, but here are some alternatives: Finance Options

Apple Laptops for Art Majors

For students considering a future in Computer Graphics and/or Graphic Arts, Lander has worked with Apple Inc. on specifications and pricing for two laptop models.  If you are interested in purchasing an Apple Laptop please contact Thomas Henry or visit Lander's Apple Store.  You can view the store here.

For questions or additional information, please contact:

Thomas Henry

Student Network Coordinator

Information Technology Services

320 Stanley Avenue

Greenwood, SC  29649

Voice: 864.388.8151

E-Mail:  thenry@lander.edu