April 2005 — Applications

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Asset-Tracking Technology Helps Lockdown, Recover Laptops at Bryant University

By Philip Lombardi

The ability to dynamically connect to information from anywhere, at anytime has become a standard practice with the use of mobile computing in today’s corporate environment. Laptops, PDAs and wireless technology are not only changing how we access information, but also how we develop, communicate and collaborate on daily business processes.

Innovative Notebook Program

To better prepare students for this technology adaptation, Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., has initiated a program that outfits all incoming freshmen with new IBM notebooks for personal and educational use. This innovative program not only provides a laptop to incoming freshmen, but also calls for the laptop to be replaced during the student’s junior year. In addition, the program allows students to keep their laptop upon graduation as a parting gift from the university.

The strategy in developing this plan was to ensure that students are equipped with the latest technology throughout their educational experience, as well as assist them with transitioning into their careers with a new laptop. Providing a standardized system for each class helps the IT department offer a higher level of support to students, while also reducing faculty frustration by ensuring consistency of technology in the classroom environment.

Each laptop provided by Bryant is equipped with a wireless network card and a standardized software image created by the technical staff. In addition to the laptops, students also receive a carrying case, laptop lock, theft-tracking software, an insurance policy and a 256 MB USB key for data storage.

First introduced in 2002, Bryant’s Laptop Program was, and continues to be, enthusiastically accepted by students and parents for its quality, value and campus support. University surveys show that both parents and students view the mandatory laptop program as an important tool in their educational development. With the utilization of the campuswide wireless network, students are now gaining the experience of learning and collaborating from anywhere on campus. Group studying is also becoming a common sight in many areas on campus because of the laptops and the wireless connectivity offered.

Implementation Issues

Since the program’s inception, Bryant initially faced a higher than expected number of laptop thefts. Within the first year of the program, more than 30 of the 750 distributed laptops were reported stolen with a zero recovery rate. This equated to over $60,000 in insurance claims, not including accidental damages and associated administrative costs. While the causes of the thefts varied, many were a result of student carelessness such as not properly securing the asset and leaving it unattended. Others were a result of break-ins and students filing fraudulent theft claims. In the fraudulent claim cases, the $500 insurance deductible was just too tempting.

With an unsophisticated means of tracking stolen laptops on campus, and few measures made for encouraging user responsibility, asset management quickly became the laptop administration team’s top priority. “We were concerned that if we did not get the situation under control, we would be exposing Bryant to escalating thefts as our program increased, as well as the threat of increased insurance premiums for being a high risk,” says Academic Technology Manager Ph'ebe Butlin, who oversees the laptop program at Bryant.