The price also covers an insurance policy and a security device. Students will download from the World Wide Web additional software needed for their particular courses of study. All students are approved for 6.32 percent loans to buy their laptops, offered by the College Foundation Inc., a Raleigh nonprofit agency that administers many types of education loans in North Carolina. Money for the loans comes from the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, a state agency that administers numerous state, federal and private financial aid programs. Each loan requires a 3 percent origination fee.
Monthly payments begin a month after the date of purchase.
Last November, UNC-CH signed a software leasing agreement with Microsoft for operating system upgrades and application software and upgrades for students' and university computers. The agreement guarantees student CCI laptop owners free software upgrades as long as they are enrolled full-time and allows each to graduate with a purchased copy of the software. With increasing computer use has come new online services for students, including registration for housing and classes, and numerous Web sites providing information, all designed by UNC-CH Administrative Information Services. These resources save students from having to visit offices and attend to administrative aspects of college life during business hours, giving them greater, faster access, more flexibility and more time freed from housekeeping details. AIS also has created computer resources facilitating research and faculty and staff opportunities, such as a new grant application and administration package and human resources policies online.