Staff Hardware
Faculty Assistants
The Law School provides all faculty assistants with an up–to-date computer that has the relevant hardware and peripherals to ensure professional success. A pre-determined amount has been earmarked for each staff member’s computer. This amount has been estimated to cover the costs of a desktop computer and all necessary software.
Unrestricted Budget Departments
ITS will purchase computers for unrestricted budget departments on a planned replacement cycle. All machines are replaced every 4 years. Unrestricted departments are responsible for the costs of any computer peripherals (keyboards, mice, etc.) that do not come with the ITS provided computer.
Restricted Budget Departments
Restricted budget departments are responsible for the costs of their computers and computer peripherals. Restricted departments are welcome to call ITS for a consultation on choosing the most appropriate computer and ITS will gladly purchase the computer equipment. Once the equipment arrives, ITS will configure these computers and troubleshoot any technical problems. ITS will only support HLS standard hardware configurations purchased through ITS.
NOTE: If you are unsure whether your department has an unrestricted or restricted budget, please check this list: Unrestricted budget department list
Standard Hardware Configurations
All computers distributed to Law School Staff will have standard HLS hardware configurations.
Staff can get laptops so long as they have a documented business need. Business purposes for having a laptop include routine business-related travel, routinely working between multiple office locations, routine presentation demands in non-hardware equipped areas and/or routine meetings at off-campus locations, such as the other schools. Routine business travel would be more than 1 work day per month on average. Routine presentation in non-hardware equipment areas would be more than once every two weeks. Routine meetings at off-campus locations would be once every two weeks.
The HLS Helpdesk has loaner laptops available for staff and faculty who have occasional laptop needs. These can be checked out for business travel, for presentations, or other mobile computing needs.
Macintosh computers will only be provided if a department uses software which can only be run on the Macintosh, which is a remarkably rare circumstance. Further, a business case must be provided demonstrating why a Macintosh is the best and necessary solution to a staff member's hardware needs.
Staff can get a second monitor so long as they provide a documented business need and the request is approved by the Department Head and the CFO. The business justification needs to be something beyond just convenience. Two monitors would be convenient for just about everyone, so there has to be a demonstrable and routine work practice that would be made considerably more efficient with a dual monitor set up.
Printers, Maintenance, and Repair
Faculty Assistants/Unrestricted Budget Departments
ITS installs, configures, and supports Hewlett Packard (HP) LaserJet printers. Printers are reviewed annually and replaced as needed or are replaced when specific models are no longer supported by HP.
Restricted Budget Departments
Like other computer peripherals, restricted budget departments are responsible for the cost of their printers. ITS will install, configure, and troubleshoot these printers to work with the department's computers. To order a printer, please contact the Help Desk. ITS recommends Hewlett Packard Laserjet printers.
NOTE: All departments are responsible for the cost of the annual printer maintenance contracts for their printers. When a printer problem is reported, ITS will troubleshoot the problem and determine whether the printer can be repaired internally or if our vendor should be contacted for the repair.
Ikon Copier/Printers
Faculty Assistants
There are several Ikon printers located at various places around the Law School campus. These printers are ideal for staff who would like to print a large amount of copies and would like to have these copies sorted and stapled. If a staff member would like to send an electronic copy of a document from his/her computer to one of these printers, please let ITS know. We will make a desk side visit and configure a printer for use and demonstrate how to send information to this printer. Instructions on how to scan are available at each Ikon printer. There is also one (1) color Ikon printer for faculty who wish to print documents in color.
Departments
Ikons printers are Harvard's preferred vendor for departments who wish to purchase an all in one printer/copier/scanner. If departments would like information on purchasing a copier, please refer to Ikon's web site or contact the Faculty-Staff Help Desk.
Self Service Scanner
Located in the student lab in Wasserstein B020, a color-scanner equipped with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available to all faculty, faculty assistants, and staff. Staff can use the scanner to convert hard copies of information into an electronic format. The scanner is self-service and works on a first-come-first-serve basis. Instructions on how to use the scanner are provided next to the scanner or a one-to-one tutorial can be provided.
Retired Equipment Policy
The current policy for "retired" equipment is for ITS to make an assessment of the equipment and to see if it has other uses here at Harvard Law School. If it is deemed of no use, it will be slated for recycling or donated to a non-profit agency.