Dr. Erin Mazerolle, Dr. James Hughes, Dr. Laura Estill, Cole MacDonald, John Delorey, Jacob Cruchet and Kaitlin Fuller are helping reduce technology barriers for students through the Used Laptops for StFX Students Program.
A new program at StFX is helping reduce technology barriers for students.
The Used Laptops for StFX Students Program is a new collaboration between the StFX Students' Union and IT Services. The program is selling used laptops to StFX students for $60. The price covers the program cost and does not generate any profit.
"Students are struggling financially. To help make education more accessible, to help make technology more accessible, is really, really important," says psychology professor Dr. Erin Mazerolle, who with English professor Dr. Laura Estill, Angus L Macdonald librarian Kaitlin Fuller, and computer science professor Dr. James Hughes, helped get the program up and running.
Dr. Mazerolle says when she first joined the StFX faculty in 2020, COVID-19 had closed all computer labs on campus. She saw her students struggling to do what they needed to do technologically on their laptops. Some were typing essays on their phones, others had old laptops that didn't run required software, and still others had unreliable laptops that broke unexpectedly. This need is demonstrated by the popularity of the laptop loaning program already offered by the Angus L. Macdonald Library in collaboration with IT Services. Dr. Estill notes that "the need for students to have access to technology runs across disciplines on campus."
The used laptop program directly contributes to StFX's 2023-2028 Strategic Plan by enacting some of its key values: equity, accessibility, and sustainability, they say.
Dr. Mazerolle says IT Services agreed to donate used laptops from StFX faculty and staff, whose laptops are refreshed ever five years, to the Students' Union for use with this program.
"We're really excited to be able to provide this program, and put more laptops in the hands of students," she says.
While StFX already offers a Laptop Bursary Program, not all students are eligible.
The Used Laptops for StFX Students Program is open to all current students, with 43 laptops available this semester. Interested students can sign up for the chance to buy a laptop here before September 6th. Students will be randomly chosen and anyone unable to buy a laptop this semester will join a waitlist.
Dr. Mazerolle says students will also be asked to complete an optional survey to assess the impacts of this program, designed by summer student, Cole MacDonald, an Irving Research Mentorship Award recipient. Mr. MacDonald also refurbished all the laptops.
Dr. Mazerolle says the survey is optional and doesn't impact a student's chance of receiving a laptop. Program administrators want to understand if the project is effective, how it might help students with academic achievement, with a sense of belonging, and financially.
