The goal of this guideline is to outline the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) standards and practices for replacing the computing equipment provided to faculty.
A process that regularly replaces equipment will minimize overall expenses and time that is devoted to problem solving by the HCDE Information Technology (IT) Department. All equipment purchased with tech refresh funds must be purchased by IT and UW procurement systems.
General Replacement Cycle
HCDE will follow a 3 year computer refresh cycle. Systems must have at least a 3-year warranty (potentially covered by a fee based extended warranty) and equipment should ideally last 4 years.
Faculty Replacement
Faculty will be allowed to choose a laptop or desktop computer model and manufacturer that meets their needs within a $3000 limit. If the faculty chooses a machine over $3000 the balance over $3000 can be covered on a university budget that would normally allow the faculty member to purchase equipment. The faculty member can also opt to allocate their computing refresh budget to other technology such as additional monitors, software, or a tablet. Effective AY23 this budget will be raised to $3500.
This policy does not cover server class equipment.
Faculty who have multiple systems will only be able to have one new computer replaced by the Department. The Department is only providing one new device during each refresh cycle. When replacing a computer, faculty may opt to continue using their old system as a backup or may request to have it follow the Replaced Equipment Recycling policy below.
Replaced Equipment Recycling
Upon replacement, an older computer will be cleaned of data and re-imaged with a current operating system. Older equipment is available for use internally in this priority order:
- faculty research projects
- administrative special projects
- addition to the student check-out pool
Any unused systems may be donated to other departments on campus or sent to UW surplus.