After a nearly 15-year partnership with Dell Corporation, the Longwood University User Support Services staff have decided not to renew the contract with the company in December. This means that User Support Services will no longer work with Dell to provide specific laptop models to interested students.
According to Kim Redford, director of User Support Services, less than 20 percent of the current freshman class purchased a Longwood Dell this year. This is in comparison to the 95+ percent that User Support Services saw when the staff began the Dell partnership in the late 1990s.
Redford explained, “It was at an all-time low this year, and it was coming up on contract time. So, we took a look at the numbers, and how they have dropped over the years, and whether or not it was worth the energy and the overhead in maintaining that contract because of the low participation, and we decided, ‘No.’”
According to Redford, the User Support Services staff has discussed discontinuing the contract for the past few years, but made the decision this fall when it was clear that a significant number of students were purchasing computers from other companies.
While Redford said the contract was of no monetary cost to Longwood, “The demand is not there, and it seems like an awful lot of overhead and work when there are so few students that take advantage of it now.”
Redford added that Longwood had a “great relationship” with Dell, and the decision to not renew was not related to the company itself. Regarding why many students stopped purchasing Longwood Dells, Redford believes that “cost is always a big component in the decision-making process,” as the Longwood Dells were more expensive than some other models due to the higher quality of the laptops. She said the number of students who already had laptops in high school has increased as well.
Redford said there are no plans to start contracts with other companies because trends have shown that this would not benefit students.
Students have never been required to purchase the Dells as the laptops were always a recommendation or a “recommendation with benefits,” Redford said.
User Support Services will continue to speak to students and parents about the university’s laptop requirement and the recommended specifications both at orientation and upon request.
Redford said a great deal of parents have become more “tech savvy” over the years and have been able to help students purchase laptops outside of the Dell agreement. She added that parents or students who need more guidance can easily go to a laptop provider, inform representatives of Longwood’s recommended specifications and find a laptop to suit their needs.
Resident Technology Associates (RTAs) will aid students in the same manner they do currently with software repairs and initial hardware troubleshooting, according to Redford. The difference is that a Dell-certified technician will no longer conduct warranty repairs in the long- term.
However, Redford said, User Support Services will“phase students out.”
She said, "If you were a student who purchased a Longwood
Dell with the expectation that we would have a Dell-certified tech here to do a warranty repair for you, we'll still do that."
