Rochester, Rochester Hills

Rochester College first in state to offer new students MacBooks

By Jennifer McDonald
C & G Staff Writer

ROCHESTER HILLS — New students arriving at Rochester College this fall will become the first in the state to receive new, state-of-the-art Apple MacBooks, totally free.

The initiative, which places a 13-inch MacBook in the hands of more than 200 students, was one of Rochester College’s efforts to provide students with the latest technology for their studies, said Larry Norman, Rochester College Vice President of Marketing and Admissions.

Over the last few years, Rochester College has created a nearly campus-wide wireless environment. Partnered with the MacBooks, this will allow Internet use anywhere on the campus, including in the classroom, library and grounds.

“From a marketing standpoint, we thought this was a good idea. Mac is the darling of the laptop computer industry right now,” Norman said. “We talk about challenging academics here, that we pride ourselves in, so we wanted to have our students set up with the latest technology to go along with that.”

Norman said Apple provides the versatility and software they think will be desirable for students. The program is paid for through the college’s admission budget, and administration plans to keep the program going each year, with the ultimate goal of giving every student a MacBook in four years.

“The reason was basically two-fold,” Norman said “We were interested in making sure our students were current with the latest technology, and we thought it would attract students.”

Jeff Simmons, dean of Rochester College’s business school, said the computers would be a great benefit, both to students and faculty.

“This allows us to engage our students both inside and outside the classroom. It opens them up to information across the world within their classrooms,” Simmons said. “That provides not only flexibility, but provides information right at their fingertips.”

New students to Rochester College will receive their computer when they begin classes in the fall. Each student’s computer will be in his or her name with a three-year extended warranty. Students will not have to return the laptops when they graduate, but if they leave before completing three years of classes at Rochester College, they will be required to pay a pro-rated charge for the laptop based on the number of semesters completed.

While Rochester College is currently working with Apple to offer something to current students, plans haven’t yet been finalized.

For more information, visit www.rc.edu.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Jennifer McDonald at jmcdonald@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112.