Click Here if you’d like to buy a personal (i.e. non-college-owned) computer.

So that College-owned computers are updated and in good working order, ITS recommends 3-5 year lifecycles for all computers and 5-6 year lifecycles for peripherals like printers and scanners. All College-owned IT equipment should be purchased through ITS. Please contact Millie Brence-Austin (x6250) if you have questions about purchasing.

Primary Links

• Flowchart of the purchasing process
• Statement on "Computer and Peripheral Purchasing"
• Request form for net inventory growth or non-standard equipment
• Colorado College standard computers and peripherals
• Project template form for grant- or project-funded IT initiatives (labs, software, etc.)

How to Buy a Computer or Peripheral

1. Talk to your Academic Technology Specialist (faculty departments) or Help Desk representative (administrative departments) to decide what equipment you want. If you’d like to browse on your own, Click Here for the Colorado College’s standard specifications for computers and peripherals, or Click Here for a computing menu in PDF format.
2. If the equipment replaces something you already have (is not net inventory growth) and is a standard computer or peripheral (see below), just email or call Millie Brence-Austin (x6250) with what you want to buy and a budget code.
3. If the equipment is net growth to the inventory or non-standard, please fill out the IT purchase request form. If the total price is over $1000, your request will be forwarded to the Equipment Committee, which decides on all such requests throughout the year and during the annual budget process. ITS will internally discuss purchase requests below $1000. Either way, you will receive an answer back within three working days.
4. Once the equipment is ordered, you can expect delivery in 3-4 weeks, depending on the manufacturer’s turnaround time and the ITS deployment schedule. Some purchases can be expedited.

Click Here for a flowchart diagram of this purchasing process.
Click Here for a detailed explanation of "Computer and Peripheral Purchasing."

Inventory Growth and Non-Standard Equipment

The purchase price of every new computer added to the College’s inventory represents only approximately 1/4 of the total cost of owning that equipment. In terms of total cost of ownership (TCO), computers themselves are only "the tip of the iceberg," since the biggest costs of technology are wrapped up in network infrastructure and IT support, as well as associated costs in software licensing, electricity, training, recycling, etc. Additionally, different brands and types of computers and peripherals use different parts, have different warranties, require different software (drivers, mostly) and interact differently with other IT equipment. While those differences are by no means impossible to support, they require a great deal more time from IT staff. Just setting up a nonstandard computer can take five times as long as a standard system. Unless IT response expectations are relaxed, having more nonstandard systems means ITS needs more support personnel. The College can save time and money by ordering standard systems whenever possible.

To address these issues, in January 2004, President Celeste endorsed the Sustainable Computing Policy, a plan drafted by the Information Technology Policy Board to sustainably manage and support information technology needs at Colorado College. A central part of that policy addresses computer and peripheral (printers, scanners) purchasing and support. Given that the College’s computer inventory has nearly doubled in the last four years and that buying similar ("standard") computers leverages pricing and support, the policy places some controls on inventory growth and buying non-standard computers and peripherals.

Computer and Peripheral Standards

Colorado College partners with Dell and Apple for computer purchasing. Because of those partnerships, the College receives discounted prices both for College purchases and when CC staff or students buy from either vendor. The College primarily purchases its peripherals and parts from CDW-G.

Click Here for the Colorado College’s standard specifications for computers and peripherals, or Click Here for a user-friendly computing menu.

Project Template Form for Grant- or Project-Funded IT Initiatives

According to the Sustainable Computing Policy, before applying for grants or special project funding to purchase computer hardware or software requiring any ITS or College support, faculty or staff must fill out a project template and discuss it with the Equipment Committee and other relevant stakeholders. The project template addresses the total cost of ownership, including staff and infrastructure costs (overhead) required to support IT equipment and the cost of future lifecycle replacement, if the equipment will be renewed.

Last revised on 11/29/05

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