After years of recurring requests from students demanding a better laptop buyout program, Winona State University finally agreed.

The new deal will allow seniors to keep their Gateway 450L or Apple iBook 700 computers for a transfer fee of $25, starting this December.

The university’s vice president for information technology, Joe Whetstone said, “This is a huge benefit for students at the one time they need the laptop the most for creating resumes and finding a job.”

Each student is allowed to purchase one laptop after graduation, and the price is based on the number of years the student has participated in the program.

The program is tailored to seniors who have invested in the laptop program the longest, but any student could buyout their laptop for higher cost.

For those enrolled in the laptop program for one year, the price is $395 for a Gateway and $495 for a Mac. Gateways are $275 and Macs are $375 for two years in the program, and students, who have had laptops for three years, have the option to buy their computers for $155 (Gateway) of $255 (Mac).

“The tiered pricing was set only to be fair to everybody,” Whetstone said.

With the exception of Norton Anti-virus software, Whetstone expects students may keep the installed software on their computer.

“We still have to figure out what we can legally leave on the computers,” Whetstone said. Whetstone is concerned that students might resell the software on eBay.

An added incentive for the buyout program for Gateway laptops is the warranty.

Students, who purchase the Gateway model, will have three year warranties — but the warranty on the Apple laptops are non-transferable.

“I encourage students to come in with any problems with their laptops before graduation so we can fix them under warranty and they are totally functionally,” Whetstone said.

According to Whetstone, the new buyout program was made possible because of “a more flexible lease with Denver-based Merrimak Capital Company.”

 Winona State’s director of student accounts, David Thorn said most companies don’t stray from standards because they aren’t willing to “take on a new program like this.”

He said the laptop program is a program that doesn’t just give students hardware, it’s a program of philosophy, of how they deliver education.

Thorn said it was an on-going goal to offer a better buyout program for students.

The $25 laptop buyout price is only good for students graduating in December and in May 2005.

He said future negotiations about upcoming buyout options depend on the market conditions, interest rates and the equipment used.

“Merrimak has been involved with us for a long time and they understand us and were willing to give suggestions on how to improve the program,” Thorn said.