| Background |
Currently, the Colleges of Architecture, Business, and Engineering require computer ownership
among their students. As the cost of hardware has decreased, computer ownership has become much less
of a burden; however, the cost of software has not decreased. As more classes have
begun taking advantage of computing, the cost burden to students has increased. Also, professors have
a wider array of software options for class use, but are hesitant to use more than one package due to the
cost. As a result, students do not get the most out of their classes.
Many of our current licenses charge a fixed price for an unlimited number of users. However, OIT
must recover its costs. This combination results in setting a price that discourages software use when
added use would not cost UT any extra money. We clearly need to change this funding model.
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