HEELING, W.Va.
Incoming freshmen at West Liberty State College will be provided laptop computers free of charge starting next fall.
Laptop computers are required in most professions, so the college is giving students an early start, college President Robin Capehart said.
“It has become a standard tool for most trades,” he said.
Incoming freshmen will get to keep the laptops if they make it through their junior years. Students who leave school before then will be charged a prorated fee. Upperclassmen will be given the opportunity to purchase or lease computers as West Liberty transitions to the use of improved technology, which includes expanded wireless connection capabilities, Capehart said.
Robert Morgenstern, a spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers’ West Virginia chapter, said Saturday he was unaware of any other public college in the state with a similar program.
West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon requires incoming students to buy laptops, either on their own or as part of a partnership program that offers purchase discounts with computer maker Dell Inc., said Julie Keehner, West Virginia Wesleyan’s dean of students.
