Campus ID News
Card, mobile credential, payment and security
FEATURED
PARTNERS
Laptopvending 1

Grand Rapids CC installs laptop vending machine

Andrew Hudson   ||   May 11, 2018  ||   

With the swipe of a student ID card, Grand Rapids Community College is offering free laptop rentals to students. The service is being offered via vending machine, giving students an alternative to accessing the technology needed to support their academic work.

Renting laptops and tablets isn’t a new service on college campuses, but the means in which these valuable resources are distributed to students is becoming increasingly automated. As reported by MLive, Grand Rapids began a pilot program late last year with the Dallas, Texas-based Laptops Anytime, to implement a laptop vending machine in the college’s student center. The vending machine cost Grand Rapids Community College $35,000, paid for with a grant from the college's Strategic Leadership Team.

Checking out a laptop from the vending machine is as quick and easy as any other vending purchase. Students simply enter their last name on the touchscreen and swipe their student ID card, at which point a laptop pops out from one of the machine's twelve charging ports.

The fully charged laptops are available to rent in four-hour increments, and students simply return the computers back to the vending machine anytime before the end of their session. The vending machine automatically wipes the laptop clean of the student’s work session and recharges it for the next rental.

The new vending machine joins existing rental options at Grand Rapids' campus library, as well as the college’s standard computer labs.

According to the college’s IT department, more than 500 students have checked out a laptop, logging a total usage time of roughly 660 hours without any issues. These results, in turn, have led the college to consider an expansion to the program, adding other campus locations as well as the addition of tablet rentals.

The vending machines are configurable to suit the specific deployment, holding anywhere from six to 12 devices in a single machine, with optional 12 or 18 bay add-ons. The company also offers either a barcode or card reader option to support device checkout.

In addition to college and university campuses the machines are also being deployed in public libraries. The initiative at Grand Rapids Community College marks Laptops Anytime’s first install in the state of Michigan, but the company is already in 31 states and four foreign countries.

Related Posts

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

RECENT ARTICLES

USF ID card back
Mar 28, 24 /

Caveat emptor when adding contact numbers to campus cards

The back of University of South Florida’s ID card provides several phone numbers for students in crisis or seeking safety services. Many campus cards contain similar resources, but what happens when this information changes. How do you deal with incorrect contact info for essential services? The USF card prominently lists contact numbers for the victim […]
High school bathroom

Bathroom breaks tracked by campus ID and mobile app

At California’s Fresno High, a new app is authorizing and monitoring trips to the bathroom in an effort to increase students’ time in class and decrease gathering in halls and bathrooms. Of course, this has not gone over well with students. Raising your hand and asking the teacher if you can go to the bathroom […]
Atrium Ozzi container

Atrium clients track check-out and return of reusable containers at OZZI kiosks

The push to reduce or even eliminate single-use containers from campus dining is now easier for Atrium clients. Thanks to a seamless integration between Atrium and the OZZI reusable container program, the processes for both students and dining services is streamlined. Atrium clients have been using OZZI for years, but the two systems were independent. […]
CIDN logo reversed
The only publication dedicated to the use of campus cards, mobile credentials, identity and security technology in the education market. CampusIDNews – formerly CR80News – has served more than 6,500 subscribers for more than two decades.
Twitter

Feb. 1 webinar explores how mobile ordering enhanced campus life, increased sales at UVA and Central Washington @Grubhub @CBORD

Join Jeff Koziol and Robert Gaulden from @AllegionUS as we explore how mobile credentials and proptech are changing on- and off-campus housing.

Load More...
Contact
CampusIDNews is published by AVISIAN Publishing
315 E. Georgia St.
Tallahassee, FL 32301
www.AVISIAN.com[email protected]
Use our contact form to submit tips, corrections, or questions to our team.
©2024 CampusIDNews. All rights reserved.