Computer Lifecycle

Procedures

At the start of employment, or when the standard 4-year life cycle on an existing system ends, pick from one of the configurations in the tables below. New staff members may be given an existing lifecycle system previously in use for that position. At the end of the 4-year cycle, the system will be replaced per this policy and the old system must be returned to be re-deployed within the school or disposed of by College IT in accordance with IU policies. All systems purchased on any IU account, including these lifecycle systems, are IU property and must be returned when leaving IU.

Preferred Configurations

Note:

Included with each of these laptop configurations are the following items:

• External Monitors (either 2x24" or 1x27" Dell monitor)
  • The MacBook Air only supports a single additional display. Thus, the MacBook Air configuration includes only a single 27" external display.
• Docking Station
• Wired Keyboard and Mouse
• Webcam

Alternative Configurations

Note:

These alternative configurations are desktop systems intended for use in your school office. If you need a system to use at home in a remote or hybrid work arrangement you should select a preferred laptop option.

Desktop configurations have been selected based on IU Purchasing standards and  to facilitate redeployment at the end of the lifecycle period. If these configurations are not adequate, a custom configuration may be selected. Minor upgrades to these configurations such as a larger SSD or more memory are not considered custom configurations in this case. However, the additional cost incurred by the upgrade must be paid for from other sources such as start-up funds, unit funds, or departmental funds (NOTE: grant funds are ineligible for this lifecycle process).

Custom Configurations

If the Preferred laptop or Alternative desktop options above are not adequate for your needs, you can propose a custom configuration.   Custom configurations will require consultation with IT staff to ensure that the purchase is compliant with all IU and College purchasing policies.  In the case of a custom configuration from an approved IU B2B vendor, the approval process is more straightforward.  An example of such a configuration would be a Dell Precision workstation with a GPU since Dell is an approved IU B2B vendor.  If you want a system from a non-approved vendor, the process is much more difficult and requires IU Purchasing approval.  These requests are frequently rejected unless there is a very compelling reason why your needs cannot be met by an approved vendor so be prepared to provide a detailed justification.

If approved, the College will provide up to $1500 toward a single system and any remaining balance paid from other sources such as start-up funds, unit funds, or departmental funds (NOTE: grant funds are ineligible for this lifecycle process). The manufacturer’s warranty of at least 4 years must be included to cover the full lifecycle period.

For custom configurations, the faculty member will maintain discretion on the deployment of the computing equipment within the policies related to the management of IU property. Computers must run an OS that is supported – security updates must be readily available and installed. Machines too old to run a supported OS must be retired.