For the first time, students with good academic performance will have the opportunity to keep their NMU-issued laptops for no additional charge after graduation.
On Sep. 2, 2015, NMU Asset Management sent out an email to all faculty and staff that gave an update on NMU’s technology program, outlining its future.
“Beginning this fall, as a reward for strong academic progress, students receiving the new X1 Carbon computers will be eligible to keep them at no additional charge upon graduation if they maintain full-time status and graduate in four years,” read the end of the email. “Northern will continue to sell, at fair market value, mobile devices to students who graduate outside of the four-year timeline.”
The laptop scholarship is based on graduation within 1,100 days, Richard Hamilton, senior marketing major and College Business Representative for the Academic Affairs Board of ASNMU said. MicroRepair’s first report from December included roughly 250 students who would be eligible for the scholarship.
Students can’t keep the NMU image on their laptop after graduation because of its Northern-specific applications and licensing, so they have to bring their laptops into MicroRepair and students can get their hard drives replaced, Hamilton said.
“[MicroRepair] will hold onto the hard drives as well,” Hamilton added.
If students forget to transfer any files, they will still have the opportunity to retrieve them in the future, he said.These hard drives are already prepped and ready to go, Hamilton said.
Many students mention that they remember hearing about the opportunity, but do not remember what the requirements or steps were to receive their laptops, Hamilton said.
Part of the reason students might not be aware of the scholarship is because of the switch from Roundcube to Gmail, Hamilton said. A professor brought the email to Hamilton’s attention and he forwarded it to MicroRepair.
NMU will be sending out an email with more information on April 1, Hamilton said.
“A lot of students don’t check their emails, and it’s not going to be a large time frame for them to get the laptop itself,” Hamilton said.
The scholarship will run from April 8 to May 10, Hamilton said.
It is unclear whether NMU will continue with this scholarship in the future, Hamilton said, but he hopes it will.
If students feel they qualify for the program, they should go down to MicroRepair, where employees will look at students’ records and confirm whether they can keep their laptop.
Because many students graduate with loans and debt, this will be a great way for them to save money, Hamilton said.
“I think this is a great program that will help set up [students] for success in the future,” Hamilton said.
