Colleges Are Providing Tech to Students to Shrink the Digital Divide

When colleges in the California State University system sent students home from campus in spring 2020, it quickly became clear that some students lacked reliable access to the internet or computers through which to participate in their pandemic-era emergency remote courses. Institutions did what they could to help in the moment, trying “band-aid remedies” such as loaning out laptops or expanding Wi-Fi service into parking lots, says Mike Uhlenkamp, senior director of public affairs for the system. But administrators realized that the problem they were trying to treat—the digital divide—was less like a mild cut and more like a deep wound. And patching the gash between the technology haves and have-nots might require a more substantial remedy than a band-aid. So this fall, eight institutions in the California State University system are lending iPads and tech accessories including a stylus and smart keyboard to all new freshmen and transfer students who want them, regardless of financial need. The tablets are theirs to hold onto for their entire undergraduate careers.