Grand Rapids Community College is adding two more laptop vending machines to campus after a successful pilot program last year.
The new vending machines will be stationed on level G2 of the Main Building and the Leslie E. Tassell M-TEC building while the original vending machine maintains its place at the Counseling and Career Center in the Student Life building. The machines located at the Leslie e. Tassell M-TEC building and the one in the Counseling and Career Center each hold six laptops while the one in the Main Building holds up to 12.
The first laptop vending machine was introduced to students in October 2017 and has since been used by more than 500 students and logged nearly 700 hours of use, according to a press release about the new machines.
GRCC President Bill Pink understands students’ need for technology and offers a solution.
“We want to remove barriers to success,” Pink said in the press release. “And not every student has access to computers at home. The laptop vending machines are one way we can eliminate barriers and ensure all students have success to resources they need.”
Funding for the additional laptop vending machines was provided by the Grand Rapids Community College Foundation while the first machine was funded by GRCC’s Strategic Leadership Team who gave a $35,000 grant.
A RaiderCard is all students need to check out a laptop. Free use of the laptop is available for four hours and must not leave the building. After the four hours, there is a $5 per hour fee until the laptop is returned to the vending machine. In the 10 months the vending machine has been on campus, there have not been any reports of damage or theft of any of the rented laptops.
