Providing University Students with a Laptop Computer During the 2021

Academic Year

Prepared for the University of New Haven’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA)
Council Members

Prepared by Alec Baez, Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences

November 29, 2020

 Abstract

“Providing University Students with a Laptop Computer During the 2021 Academic Year”

Prepared by Alec Baez, Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences

It is well documented that American college tuition has continued to rise at a rate that is leaving
many current students in debt. Colleges across the nation continue to increase their rates of
tuition even as students and their parents face historic levels of unemployment amidst the
COVID-19 pandemic. To alleviate the financial and academic burden on the students on the
students, a study analyzed raw data and the University’s financial ability to provide students with
laptops. Results find that a program with such goals is likely to affect students’ grades, but
possibly not to the degree imagined. The study’s results also indicate that the University has
multiple means of creating and funding a budget for such an initiative. It has been recommended
that the criteria for examining the effect of such a proposal on students’ grades be reevaluated, or
that the University test a sample of students from each college with the devices proposed.

Keywords: college, tuition, debt, unemployment, financial, study, grades, funding, online
learning, laptop
 Table of Contents

Executive Summary 1

Introduction 2

Research Methods 3

Objective 1: Analyze ideal budget and logistical strategy for distribution of laptops 3

Objective 2: Identify laptop recommendations at the higher academic institutions 4

Objective 3: Identify ideal laptop requirements for UNH using a decision matrix 4

Results 5
Objective 1: Analyze ideal budget and logistical strategy for distribution of laptops 5
Objective 2: Identify laptop recommendations at the higher academic institutions 5
Objective 3: Identify ideal laptop requirements for UNH using a decision matrix 5
Conclusions 7

Recommendations 8

Route 1: Test the same device with students regardless of the college they attend 8

Route 2: Re-evaluate criterion on improvements to grades 8

References 9

Appendix: Scatterplot, Data Table, and Decision Matrix 10

 Executive Summary

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic has decimated the country’s economy and job market, directly
impacting our students. Many students and their families (1) experienced loss of a job, (2)
received no or reduced federal stimulus payment, and (3) experienced a period of illness or loss
of family. Though these tragic events occurred, tuition at the University of New Haven increased
from $39,000 to $41,170 in one year. This is the largest change in cost of tuition a senior at this
university would have experienced in their four years here.
While the modifications and accommodations added to UNH’s campus have eased fears of
contracting COVID-19, there is a sense that more could have been done to ease the academic
hardships on students. With the additional, approximate $10,000,000 raised by the University, a
fitting use of this could be aiding students in the transition to online learning. This study
analyzed raw data ranging from increases to tuition nationwide and internally while also looking
at data covering various wages in the United States since the mid-1900s to determine the best
possible use of the additional funds for the sole purpose of transitioning to online learning this
academic year.
This study determined the most effective approach to aiding the full time student body in this
transition is to provide each of them with a laptop with pre-installed software necessary for their
studies. It has been recommended that this be tested on a sample population of students in each
of the University’s colleges. Doing so would allow a further study to examine students’
academic and mental states when working off of their own hardware as opposed to working
across the same hardware. An opposing recommendation suggests that the criteria for examining
a change in students’ academic performance be re-evaluated. This is because the decision matrix
used to find a viable product for students considered a laptop’s speed, as determined by the
processor and RAM capacity, to be in direct correlation to a student’s performance. This had
been an oversight in the creation of the decision matrix and will therefore need to consider other
factors when considering a laptop’s impact on a student’s academic performance.
 Introduction

This report examined the viability of providing students at the University of New Haven with
laptops due to (1) the increase in tuition during the 2020 academic term, (2) the probable
decrease in earnings experienced by students and their families, and (3) likelihood of a major
transition to online learning. Its purpose was to determine the best strategy for acclimating the
students at the University to a primarily online learning environment and improving academic
performance. This had been accomplished using a combination of raw data from the University
in conjunction with data pulled from national news articles. The news articles assisted in the
justification of purchasing laptops for helping to improve students’ academic performance, while
the data pulled from MyCharger had been used to determine changes in cost of attendance at
UNH in the past four years.
This report is important considering the circumstances surrounding the 2020 academic year.
Proving to students that the University cares about them and their families by providing
academic and financial relief during a public health crisis can only pay dividends for both parties
involved. If the University were able to provide such relief, there is the potential for other
academic institutions to follow suit. This has already occurred across the state of Connecticut in
its “Everybody Learns” initiative (Kirby, 2020).
This report will also reference other approaches taken by universities across the country facing
similar issues this year. However, subjects such as operational costs and deficits caused by the
pandemic on the University of New Haven will not be heavily considered. While the study
acknowledges the extreme importance and relevance of these factors on the implementation of
the proposed solution to problems faced with an extremely quick transition to predominantly
online learning, it is outside the scope of this paper to analyze the entire budget of the University.
Rather, this study seeks to find the best possible allocation for the funds raised by the recent
tuition increase for bettering students’ academic performance and financial stability.
Perhaps most importantly, there is evidence that successful implementation and distribution of
devices across the student body would result in both academic and financial improvements to the
university. The most difficult challenge faced with this initiative seems to be the logistical
aspect. Finding out how to preinstall all software needed by the different colleges prior to a
student picking up their device was an important hurdle. Also, allocating pick up and drop offs
for students should be a more seriously handled process when compared to returning room keys
and similar, smaller items. In the end, its been recommended, based on evidence of improvement
to students’ wellbeing, that a small scale implementation of project be undertaken in each of the
colleges at UNH. Doing so would ensure that the theory behind this report stays true when put to
the test. Alternatively, it is also recommended that measurement of “academic performance” in
the decision matrix used in this report be re-evaluated for a follow up study.
 Research Methods

Before determining the best path to implementing this project, research had been conducted to
justify using the funds acquired by the University of New Haven’s tuition increase towards
laptops for students. This involved reading numerous news articles, observing trends in national
tuition cost and wages, and analyzing data from the “My Financial Aid” portal on MyCharger.
Finding an ideal budget based solely on the funds from the tuition increase involves many
approximations in numerical data. This means that with limited access to primary demographics
from UNH, data used in this report is likely to be skewed and involve a bias. Laptop
recommendations and decision matrix criterion are based on numerous factors. These factors
include personal experience from time spent at UNH, laptops currently used by students from
different colleges at UNH, laptop recommendations from other universities, and constraints
placed by the budget allotted.
The objectives researched in the following section are ordered as follows:
Objective 1: Analyze ideal budget and logistical strategy for distribution of laptops
Objective 2: Identify current laptop recommendations at the higher academic institutions
Objective 3: Identify ideal laptop requirements for the University using a decision matrix

Objective 1: Analyze ideal budget and logistical strategy for distribution of laptops

Since this study did not have access to raw demographic data, it relied on data reported by UNH
on the following “Fast Facts” site: https://www.newhaven.edu/about/facts-figures.php. For the
sake of this report, it will be assumed that all full-time students will be eligible to receive a
laptop from the University. This amounts to 5,911 students according to the data from the
previously mentioned site.
Next, data taken from My Financial Aid, a student portal that every person attending the
University should have access to, allows access to raw data to UNH’s cost of attendance. Data
from this portal that is relevant to this report includes tuition and fees and the general fee. The
tuition and fees portion of from this page had been exported and examined as graphical data in
the results section. Data from this section had been used approximate the funds raised in the
2020 academic year as a result of the increase in tuition to be, roughly, $12,826,870.
As for distribution of the devices, multiple options can be considered. The student mail room can
act as a redemption center, or students may come to an organized event to pick them up at
scheduled times.

Objective 2: Identify current laptop recommendations at higher academic institutions

To identify laptop recommendations at other top universities in the country, key words were
typed into search engines to mimic searches of incoming college students. Phrases such as
“laptops for college”, “best laptops for students 2020”, and “laptop requirements university”. A
final search conducted used, “University of New Haven laptop requirements” and resulted in
discovering a University sponsored page.
Objective 3: Identify ideal laptop requirements for the University using a decision matrix
After identifying laptop recommendations from PC and academic focused articles and forums,
three options had been selected. Their implementation was dependent on the frequency of their
appearance in lists, their popularity, and reliability. Since these devices had been included on the
list for these reasons already, these criteria were not placed into the decision matrix.
 Results
Data collection for this section of the report involved analyzation of raw data, reading articles
and forums, and taking data sourced as coming from the University of New Haven. Tables and
figures referenced in this section can be found in the appendix of this report.
Objective 1: Analyze ideal budget and logistical strategy for distribution of laptops
The total budget for the devices should be a restricted amount from the ~$12,000,000 raised by
the increase in tuition. Using the entire budget across 5,911 students would negate this entire
profit and would leave this increase in tuition dedicated solely to one project benefitting the
students. At maximum, 60% of the ~$12,000,000 should be used, resulting in an ideal budget of
$7,200,000.
It has been deemed that laptops should be distributed by the student mailroom staff after they
complete a one-hour training session that includes mock trials of students receiving their devices.
These devices’ serial numbers will correspond to one student ID and this is how a device will be
assigned to every student. Student ID cards will need to be scanned and full-time status must be
required at time of pickup of these devices. The student mailroom cannot hold all nearly 6,000
devices at once, so a stockpile can be maintained at the campus store located a crosswalk away
from the mailroom.
Objective 2: Identify current laptop recommendations at the higher academic institutions
Three devices were identified through searches of common phrases from pre-college students.
These devices, found in Table 2, include the MacBook Pro with an M1 processor, the HP Envy
x360 13” with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage, and the Surface Pro 7 with 16 GB of
RAM and 256 GB of storage (Burek 2020). These three laptops hit three different niches
commonly found when searching for a student laptop. These niches are power, affordability, and
portability respective to how the devices are listed. The devices are contrasted in Table as
described below.
Objective 3: Identify ideal laptop requirements for the University using a decision matrix
When referring to Table 2 in the appendix, there are four criteria explored across three devices
that appear as common results for “student laptops”. The four criteria are portability, cost,
software compatibility, and academic performance. Portability is a measure of a laptop’s
ergonomic ease of transportation. The ideal example being, “How easy is it to bring this device
to class?”. The smallest device listed, the Surface Pro, performed best here while the largest
device, the HP Envy x360, performed worst. Next, the cost was weighed at a medium
importance on this matrix given there is not an unlimited budget, but it is large nonetheless. The
HP Envy performs best in this category and the Apple MacBook Pro performs worst. The
software compatibility criteria is a measure of a devices likelihood of working with all software a
professor may wish to use in their class. The MacBook performs poorly in this category because
of it does not run on Windows OS, a common operating system needed for many programs. The
HP Envy performs well in this category because it is not tablet hybrid and it does run on
Windows OS. Finally, the measure of academic performance was used to compare speed of the
devices based mostly on their processor’s competence in an academic setting. The Apple
MacBook Pro’s new, M1 processor is the most powerful on this list, but causes the device’s cost
category to lower as a result. The HP Envy’s AMD Ryzen 5 4500U processor is comparable to
an Intel core i7 processor, a component making it capable of tackling most software a professor
may use. While the Surface Pro has a comparable processor, it requires that other hardware be
upgraded in this device as well and can quickly cause the cost to increase. The HP Envy
maintains the highest average score among the three devices on the decision matrix with a
weighted score of 115.
 Conclusion
This section will provide conclusions to the three objectives explored throughout this report.
Ideal Budget?
When considering the approximate amount of funds raised by the tuition increase this academic
year ($12,826,870), there is more than enough funding for such a project. The target device that
should be provided to students should cost roughly $5,406,259.71 in total for an $860 unit price
including tax. It was never the goal of this initiative to utilize the entirety of the extra funding
acquired by UNH, but to find the best use for providing academic and financial relief during
these uncertain times. This budget also allows for future considerations of device insurance and
security software licenses if the University wishes to include these options upon adoption of the
project, all while staying within the 60% budget limit.
This budget has the possibility to be expanded if the recommendations are considered in the
following academic year. This is based on the extrapolation of data found in Figure 1 which
indicates the University’s current tuition price is likely to rise again in the next year. This
expanded budget for a future academic term is impossible to determine based on the limited raw
data and the fact that this suggestion is based on inference.
Logistical Distribution?
Ideally, the University would receive and house a portion of these devices in the student
mailroom and restock this area as students claim their laptops. The main stockpile could be
located in the campus store and transported to the student mailroom with relative ease when
considering its proximity and level to the student mailroom. Students should have a laptop serial
number match with their student ID in order pick up their device and mailroom workers should
be give a physical list of student ID’s with corresponding serial numbers. It should not be a
physical copy since thousands of people will be on this list.
What device is best for students?
This report utilized a decision matrix to conclude the best device to provide our students. Based
on this matrix, the HP envy x360 13” laptop with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage is best
fit. As seen in Table 2, this device beats its competition by maintaining high scores across all of
its categories. In contrast, the other devices receive high scores in just one or two criteria, but
perform poorly in the other criteria and therefore cause their score to drop. This device is fairly
priced for the hardware is contains and also includes many customizable models. This means that
if the University independently wishes to assess the laptop for themselves, they have a multitude
of combinations of RAM and storage spaces to consider that can either raise or lower the cost.
Where this device performs best is in its software compatibility. It is not running on a MacOS
and it is not a tablet/laptop hybrid, making it most likely out of all options to be compatible with
software professors wish to use with their classes.
 Recommendation
We recommend that the University of New Haven follows one of the proposed routes:

Route 1: Test the same device with students regardless of the college they attend

The primary recommendation of this report is to purchase 50 HP Envy x360 13” laptops that
have 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space. This option ranks highest in the decision
matrix found in the appendix of this report, meaning it proves to be the best option financially
and academically for our students. These 50 devices should first be divided equally among the
five colleges at the University. Then, 10 randomly selected students from each of these colleges
should partake in a future study examining their academic performance and financial well-being
when compared to another random selection of students from the same college. This future study
should provide raw evidence that supports the theory behind this initiative: that students should
be entitled to a laptop from UNH during such a challenging academic term.

Route 2: Re-evaluate criterion on improvements to grades

Alternatively, this report recommends re-evaluating a criterion of the decision matrix. This
report’s primary recommendation relies heavily on the use of the decision matrix found in the
appendix. One criterion of this matrix had been “academic performance”. The problem with this
is that this title leaves the criterion vague and introduced a bias into the matrix. A more technical
term such as “device speed”, “performance”, or “future-proof” would lead to a more objectively
critical analyzation of the devices listed. As a result, it is recommended that the potential bias
involved in the matrix be heavily considered before proceeding with route 1.
 References

Kirby, Rich. “CT Delivered 141,000 Laptops To Students In Coronavirus Outreach.” Patch, 2
Dec. 2020.

“Student Laptop Recommendations.” AAP, 2020, aap.cornell.edu/resources/computer-support-

services/student-laptop.

Burek, John, and Tom Brant. “The Best Laptops for College Students in 2020.” PCMAG,
PCMag, 25 Nov. 2020, www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-laptops-for-college-students.

Hess, Abigail. “The Cost of College Increased by More than 25% in the Last 10 Years-Here's
Why.” CNBC, CNBC, 13 Dec. 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/cost-of-college-
increased-by-more-than-25percent-in-the-last-10-years.html.
 Appendix: Scatterplot, Data Table, and Decision Matrix

Tuition Cost at the University of New Haven from

2017 to 2021
40500

40000
Cost of Tuition (in $)

y = 713x - 1E+06
39500 R² = 0.7997

39000

38500

38000

37500
2017 2018 2019 2020
Year

Figure 1: Scatter plot of tuition cost at the University of New Haven from 2017 to 2021. Data
had been pulled from My Financial Aid portal found on the MyCharger website. The statistical
data presented indicates an increasing trend in cost of tuition as indicated by the R2 value.
Table 1: Data table used to create figure 1. Data had been pulled from My Financial Aid portal
found on the MyCharger website. This table includes the annual percent change in tuition cost
since 2017, but excludes any change for 2017 since data from 2016 had not been obtained.
Year Tuition Annual
Cost Tuition
Change
2017 38170 -
2018 37870 -0.79%
2019 39000 2.98%
2020 40170 3.00%

Table 2: Decision matrix used to determine what laptop will be recommended for academic use
for students.
Type of Laptop
Apple MacBook Pro w/HPM1Envy
Chipx360 13 Microsoft Surface Pro 7
Criteria Weight Rating Score Rating Score Rating Score
Portability 2 9 18 7 14 10 20
Cost 3 4 12 8 24 7.5 22.5
Software Compatibility 4 6 24 8 32 7.5 30
Academic Performance 5 10 50 9 45 7 35
Total 104 115 107.5