Computing Policies
Northwestern Law Faculty Computer Support Policy
Goal: It is the goal of this policy to provide faculty with support needed for their research and instructional needs. To do so, the law school provides basic computing support in the form of an office computer and a standard set of software packages. Faculty who have special hardware and software computing needs should discuss them with the Associate Dean for Faculty Research.
Faculty are encouraged to select a laptop as their office computer for a variety of reasons. The clear performance difference that once existed between desktop and laptop computers is rapidly eroding and today’s laptops offer substantial computing power and flexibility for travel and teaching. An increasing number of smart classrooms in the University (and all of them in Wieboldt) have moved away from providing resident PCs for classroom use, relying on faculty to own and use laptops in the classroom. The law school has taken the position that resident PCs in its smart classrooms will not be replaced once they fail or become obsolete. While the IT department will have a small number of short-term loaner laptops for faculty use, it is expected that demand for the laptops will increase over time.
Primary/Office Computer: The Law School provides faculty a choice of two office computer packages, both of which are fully paid for by the Law School.
The first package consists of a desktop computer, flat screen LCD monitor, and Microsoft Office Professional. Faculty who select this option are eligible for additional financial support for the purchase of a home computer. For details, see “Secondary Computer” below.
The second package consists of a laptop computer, docking station, separate flat screen LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Microsoft Office Professional. Faculty who select this option are NOT eligible for additional financial support for the purchase of a home computer, but will be provided a second docking station, keyboard, and mouse for home use.
Modifications to the standard package must be approved by the Law School Information Technology Department (LSIT) and any additional costs will be charged to the faculty member's research account. Contact LSIT at 312/503-7000 for current computer specifications.
Support of primary computers: LSIT provides hardware and software support for primary computers. Because of the increasingly complex interaction between hardware and software, it does not support personally installed software and hardware peripherals.
Secondary/Home Computer:Faculty who have chosen a desktop computer as their primary/office computer may use up to $800 from their research account to help pay for the purchase of a secondary/home computer that has been approved in advance by the LSIT department. The balance of the purchase price must be personally paid BEFORE the LSIT department will place the order. No supplemental grants will be made to individual research accounts to cover the costs of a secondary computer.
Secondary computers purchased under this section using Law School funds are the property of the University. Faculty who purchase a secondary computer under this policy may buy out the University's share at the end of three years at its depreciated value.
Faculty may not purchase secondary computers using Law School funds more frequently than every three years and no faculty member may have more than one Law School funded secondary computer at a time.
Support of secondary computers: The LSIT department will provide hardware and software support for secondary computers purchased under this policy that are brought to the LSIT office. Because of the increasingly complex interaction between hardware and software, the LSIT Department will not provide technical support for personally installed software and hardware peripherals. In all instances, data backup on the secondary computer is the sole responsibility of the faculty member.
