Bring your Own Device (BYOD) - Laptop Information for Students and Parents

SUNY Erie recommends that each student have a personal laptop that meets the requirements for their coursework.  A laptop is an important part of your academic success at Erie Community College. It provides a flexible learning environment from anywhere at any time. In addition, it also provides flexibility to participate in online courses, access electronic course resources, obtain virtual services and collaborate with your instructor or fellow students while off-campus.  While, the College still maintains computer labs on campus, we are steadily moving towards a mobile computing environment. Students may either bring their own laptops or purchase one, as long as it meets the recommended hardware specifications based on their division of study. The following is information on recommended laptops:

Recommended Laptops

For the 2020-2021 academic year, SUNY Erie recommends the following hardware specifications, based on your divisional curriculum requirements for:
1.    Business and Public Service Division
2.    Engineering and Technologies
3.    Health Sciences
4.    Liberal Arts

For students enrolled across multiple divisions, view both divisions and use the higher of the two recommendations.  To check which division your degree program is in, please visit the College Catalog.

Business and Public Service Division

Device	Windows PC Laptop
Operating System	Windows 10 Home or Pro 64-bit
Processor Type	Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5
Memory	8GB
Hard Drive	256GB Solid State Drive
Graphics Card	Built-in, no additional card necessary

 

Engineering and Technologies

	All programs except Visual Communications Technology and Industrial Technology	Visual Communications Technology ONLY
Device	Windows PC Laptop	Apple Macintosh
Operating System	Windows 10 Home or Pro 64-bit	Macintosh OS 10.12
Processor Type	Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 7	Core i5 Processor
Memory	16GB	16GB
Hard Drive	512GB Solid State Drive	512GB Solid State Drive
Graphics Card	Nvidia Quadro or AMD Firepro with at least 4GB memory	Intel Iris

 

Health Sciences

Device	Windows PC Laptop
Operating System	Windows 10 Home or Pro 64-bit
Processor Type	Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5
Memory	8GB
Hard Drive	256GB Solid State Drive
Graphics Card	Built-in, no additional card necessary

 

Liberal Arts

	All Programs except Communication and Media Arts	Communication and Media Arts
Device	Windows PC Laptop	Windows PC Laptop
Operating System	Windows 10 Home or Pro 64-bit	Windows 10 Home or Pro 64-bit
Processor Type	Intel Core i5 or Ryzen 5	Intel Core i7 or Ryzen 7
Memory	8GB	16GB
Hard Drive	256GB Solid State Drive	512GB Solid State Drive
Graphics Card	Built-in, no additional card necessary	Built-in

 

We recommend the following warranty and insurance on any newly purchased laptops:

Warranty	3 Years parts and labor
Insurance	Comprehensive breakage, theft, liquid spill, hazard

 

In addition, students may want to consider purchasing the following accessories:

▸ Wired or Wireless Mouse – For easier navigating instead of using the touchpad
▸ Padded Carrying Case – To transport and protect your device
▸ A 128GB or larger USB drive – To store, transfer or work on larger files and perform routine backups

Software

When feasible, SUNY Erie participates in agreements which provide department specific student software for free. This is not possible though for all cases. To understand which software you may have to purchase, please visit the New Student section of the Help Desk.

How to Obtain a Device

If you do not own a laptop  it may be purchased from any retail store or from the SUNY Erie bookstore. When choosing a laptop, evaluate the specs, quality, and warranty. Online reviews are helpful on most site to understand the pros and cons of each model. SUNY Erie uses Lenovo ThinkPad laptops based on their durability and support. Lenovo and the bookstore provides a discount on several of their models to SUNY Erie students and employees.
City Bookstore: http://ecccity.bkstr.com
North Bookstore: http://eccn.bkstr.com
South Bookstore: http://eccs.bkstr.com
Lenovo Laptop Purchase: https://www.lenovo.com/sunyerie

Financial Aid

A laptop is an important part of your academic success at Erie Community College. If you would like to use your financial aid to purchase a laptop, you are able to do this through the SUNY Erie Bookstore. Bookstore credits are available to students whose financial aid exceeds their scheduled bill. To be eligible for a bookstore credit, your financial aid file must be complete. Bookstore credits are automatically generated and are available the Saturday before classes begin through the 4th week of classes. Scholarships and private loans cannot be used for a book credit.

The amount of the book credit is based on the number of credit hours a student is taking and the amount of financial aid awarded. Only the portion of your bookstore credit actually used will be added to your student account and deducted from your student aid.