University Technology Fund
SMU established the University Technology Fund in order to assist with the timely replacement of technology resources across campus.
Each year, the Technology Fund is allocated in the following areas:
| Desktop Technology | ||
|---|---|---|
| Instructional Technology | ||
| Infrastructure Maintenance | ||
| Special Infrastructure Initiatives | ||
Desktop Technology Fund Allocation:
Criteria has been established to determine which computers are eligible for funding as well as the standard replacement computers.
Departments may elect to order a non standard computer for a replacement; however, the additional funding must come from the Departmental budget.
Computer upgrade/replacement:
the following guidelines are in place:
Eligibility:
- The computer must be a primary or instructional use device
- For Faculty machines, the age of the computer must be a minimum of 4 years old and each faculty member is allowed one upgrade every four years through the Technology Fund
- For Staff machines, the age of the computer must be a minimum of 5 years old and each staff member is allowed one upgrade every five years through the Technology Fund
- Instructional machines are eligible after 4 years
- Each employee may be assigned only one primary workstation.
- Computers must have the University Client Management agent installed and actively reporting to the server to be eligible for Technology Funds toward an upgrade
- If a primary device is replaced and that machine is reallocated to replace a secondary or shared device elsewhere, it cannot be designated as a primary device and will not be eligible for replacement under Technology Funds in the future.
Fund distribution
The Technology Fund will cover the cost of a standard machine of the same OS and format of the existing computer being replaced. For example: An employee with an eligible Windows desktop will receive the "standard Windows desktop" funds toward a new computer. If they wish to move to a laptop or change to a different OS platform, the difference in cost will be the responsibility of the Department to fund. If the Department requests a computer at the same cost or less than the approved Technology Fund allocation, the Technology Fund will cover the cost of the replacement.
Standard repairs due to hardware failures (hard drive crashed, video card issues) are covered by the Desktop Technology Fund.
The Desktop Technology Fund is used to maintain, upgrade or repair Primary or Instructional devices.
The machine eligible for replacement (or an older machine if the Primary or Instructional machine is reassigned to replace an older shared use machine) must be turned in to OIT for disposal in order for Technology Funds to be applied to toward the cost of the new machine.
New computers (that are net-new to the department/area) for new positions are not provided by the Technology Fund and must be funded by departmental funds.
If a new employee inherits an existing computer from a previous employee, the same eligibility requirements apply. The device (if primary or instructional) would be eligible for technology funds according to the rules outlined above.
Computer Function/Category Definitions
Primary Workstation - A computer used by one person. It is the computer used most frequently if the employee has more than one computer. Only one Primary computer per employee can be designated.
Instructional Workstation – A computer used in a Classroom or Lab (either centrally managed or departmentally managed), or a Seminar or Training room and used for the purpose of course instruction or research. This also includes computers located in an area designed for open use by students (Information Commons, Café, etc…).
Secondary Workstation – A computer device used by one person that is not their Primary workstation.
Shared Workstation - A computer used by more than one person including Loan-out laptops, Test computers, Student Shared Workstations, Kiosk, and Open Workstations (a computer attached to a scanner or some other resource for several people to use).
Host System - Any computer that acts as a host to an application or equipment but not used as a normal workstation (Scientific Equipment, Digital Display, Pay for Print release station, HVAC Control, Access Control, Security Camera, etc…)
Inventory Records
Computer inventory records are housed within STABLE. The initial asset record is created when the computer is received and prepared for installation. The record is removed when the computer is returned for disposal. In order for the eligibility to calculate properly, the asset record must be associated with the correct faculty or staff member and have a current Ivanti check in date.
To check the eligibility of a computer assigned to you, login to smu.edu/stable and click the My Computer icon. You should see all of your devices and when each is eligible for replacement under the Technology Fund. To check eligibility of a machine that is not assigned to you, visit the Order Form or contact the IT Help Desk.