SUA 2-n-1 Laptop PC FAQs

How will we pay for the laptop?

Tuition and fees cover the costs of the use of technology at Saint Ursula Academy. There are no additional technology fees.

No. As a general rule, Saint Ursula Academy owns the laptop. The warranty and accidental damage protection plans are registered under the school's name. Furthermore, this allows our technology department to be a "self-maintainer" with the hardware vendors that allows our technicians to order parts and perform the warranty repairs. In certain cases, Saint Ursula Academy may have utilized State of Ohio Auxiliary Funds and the school may not own the laptop. In those cases, the equipment will be returned via State of Ohio regulations.

At Saint Ursula, each student is issued a 2-n-1 laptop PC. A 2-in-1 laptop, also known as a convertible laptop, is a portable computer that combines the features of a laptop and a tablet. It is equipped with a touch screen and writing stylus.  We cover the laptop with a 4-year warranty and 4-year accidental damage protection. The student will also have access to Google Workspace Suite, Microsoft Office®, anti-virus protection, student monitoring and teaching enhancement software, online testing, online textbooks, and other class-specific software as needed.

The technology help desk will be open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (1/2 hour before, during, and 1/2 hour after school, during the school year) and during the summer.

What happens if the computer does not work or is accidentally damaged? 

The student can bring the computer to the technology department help desk where our technicians will diagnose and determine a course of action to resolve the problem. If it is a hardware issue that is preventing functional use of the laptop, the student will be placed into a different but identical "loaner" laptop until the problem can be resolved. Once resolved, the student will be notified to stop by the help desk so the laptops can be swapped back to the assigned laptop.

Accidental damage protection will cover one repair per part per student per year. It does not cover negligence or abuse. If the damage is determined to be due to negligence or abuse, the hardware manufacturer may charge for the replacement of parts not covered under warranty or accidental damage protection. Those charges would be passed along to the respective student's family.

Approximate charges for parts if a computer is abused or not taken care of in the proper fashion are:

Neither the warranty nor the accident damage protection covers theft or destruction of the tablet due to accident or neglect. Parents are required to add the tablet as a rider on their own homeowner’s policy to cover this. The student is responsible for the computer while it is in her possession.

Many of the textbooks are available online and accessible anywhere via the Internet. For certain classes, a classroom set of textbooks may be available or a textbook may be issued to the student that they can take home.

We do not promote the use of technology for technology's sake. Research has demonstrated that computers in the classroom help to improve students' writing as well as allow for spontaneous, student-directed learning through Internet research, data collection and analysis, and multimedia presentations. Use of the computer in class will depend on the content area and the appropriateness of technology for the lesson being taught. The type and frequency of technology use will be appropriate to the curriculum.

All incoming students will need to attend one 90-minute session before the start of school to get some basic computer training and pick up their laptops. This session is done in a typical classroom setting.

All computers will have software installed that allows our faculty to monitor the use of the computers during class time. This monitoring is a huge deterrent to misuse. English classes require students to submit any written work to Turnitin.com, an online plagiarism service to which Saint Ursula subscribes. Cheating and plagiarism are always considered very serious offenses and are dealt with accordingly. The statistics show that by using computers and taking appropriate precautions, these two problems actually decrease.

Students are required to plug in their computers each night so that they will have a full battery charge for the next school day.

Printing is becoming less prevalent as most students and teachers send materials digitally, through learning management systems and e-mail. However, if need arises printers are available to the students and the students have an adequate quota of prints available.