SAN MARCOS — California State University at San Marcos (CSUSM) is one of eight CSU campuses participating in a new initiative that will offer an iPad Air, Apple Pencil and Apple Smart Keyboard Folio to all incoming first-year and new transfer students.
The CSUCESS (California State University Connectivity Contributing to Equity and Student Success) initiative will provide devices for up to 35,000 first-year and new transfer students at eight campuses.
Kicking off in the fall of 2021, students will be provided with this iPad bundle for the entirety of their undergraduate experience at CSUSM.
“CSUCCESS will assure that students have immediate access to innovative, new mobile tools they need to support their learning, particularly when faced with the lingering effects of the pandemic,” said CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro in a statement. “The new initiative will establish a foundation for their achievement and has the potential to play a key role in eliminating stubborn equity gaps among our talented and diverse students. In addition to truly addressing equity and access, we see iPad Air as a powerful tool to prepare our students for their future careers.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CSUSM followed a hybrid learning model for the entire 2020/2021 school year. During that time, the university loaned out 669 laptops, 191 hotspots, and 176 other pieces of technology to students alone in order to ensure equal access.
Kevin Morningstar, dean/chief information officer for CSUSM’s Instructional & Information Technology Services, told The Coast News that this particular program is about providing a common device and creating a common learning experience for all students.
“While CSUSM continues to loan out equipment to any student who doesn’t have a device, the CSUCCESS program really builds beyond that, by ensuring that every incoming student has the opportunity to receive a high-quality and reliable personal computing device to support their academic achievement,” Morningstar said.
The initiative aims to provide common devices to all incoming students every year, which will eventually allow every student on campus, at every level, to have access to these devices.
CSUSM students who register for the opportunity will be receiving their devices the week of Aug. 23.
The other CSU campuses participating in the program are Bakersfield, Channel Islands, Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Maritime Academy and Northridge.
“I am convinced that true and consistent student success depends on having a modern, and more importantly, reliable, computing device in our students’ possession beginning on day one and continuing throughout their college experience,” Castro said. “We aspire to have additional phases of the initiative that will expand access in the future to more new and current students at other CSU campuses.”
Students can visit the CSUCCESS website for additional information about the program.
