Annenberg implements ‘BYOD’ policy for this fall

Students in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism can look forward to a number of changes beginning in the fall 2014.

In addition to the completion of the new Wallis Annenberg Hall, all students will be required to have laptop computers in the classroom. The policy is referred to as BYOD, or bring your own device.

Gordon Stables, assistant dean for Student Affairs, and James Vasquez, associate dean of information technology and facilities operations at Annenberg announced the new policy requiring all Annenberg students to have a PC or Apple laptop in a memo to students on June 13.

“As part of our school-wide 21st Century Literacies Initiative, we believe these developments will provide a breadth of opportunities that will be unique to you as a USC Annenberg student,” they said in the memo.

The announcement on the Annenberg website said that the policy would allow the school to “focus resources on a mobile-rich and technology-intensive environment.”

In addition, the memo said the school will phase out all class-specific fees and implement a school-wide Annenberg Access (Technology) fee giving students access to both new and existing technology services, software access and free printing.

According to the memo, a 2014 Annenberg student survey found that 99 percent of students currently own a laptop, but to assist students in purchasing new devices, the school has partnered with KST Data and HP to provide four HP EliteBook 840 packages that meet the minimum system requirements.

The packages range in price from $1,047 to $1,657. They also stipulated that current students with a new laptop do not need to purchase a new device.

Minimum technical specifications for Apple or PC laptops is available online at vc.uscannenberg.org.