What happens when hundreds of UMass Boston employees find themselves working from home unexpectedly? After news of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, for many this meant realizing they did not have the technology needed to perform their jobs and meet the needs of students, faculty, and staff.

Enter the “Technology Loaner Program”—aptly titled the “Get IT” program—intended to provide faculty and staff with the information technology equipment necessary to teach, work, and learn remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the “Get IT” technology loaner program, IT Services was able to help keep UMass Boston up and running after the unforeseen announcement that the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester would be held remotely. IT rose to the occasion to meet the immediate needs of faculty and staff for the Spring semester, and by the Fall of 2020, the technology loaner program was expanded and rebranded as “Get IT,” so that faculty and staff could borrow the equipment necessary to keep UMass Boston functional during a global pandemic.

In addition to loaning out laptops, the “Get IT” program has also provided brand new desktop computers, external monitors, headsets, microphones, and webcams to 500+ members of the UMass Boston faculty and staff.

Along with expansion of the larger “Get IT” program came the development of an accompanying equipment reservation system. Binh Ly, a developer inside of the Managed Services ( formerly Lab Operations) team, took the lead on creating a program that facilitated equipment requests from faculty and staff. Interested parties were able to login with single sign-on credentials and select the equipment they needed from IT Services’ available inventory. The request system would then automate a property pass, which is the paperwork needed when equipment goes off-site, and open a service ticket. Then, Desktop Services team members arranged appointments so individuals could pick up the equipment they ordered curbside in a safe and secure manner.

At the time of this writing, the loaner equipment utilized in the “Get IT” program is being converted to become permanent replacements as part of the university’s Computer Replacement Program. To continue to meet the need for loaner equipment, IT Services is leveraging funds awarded to UMass Boston as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) act.

“We received a final round of CARES Act funding at the end of the fiscal year,” said Michael Lyons, Assistant Vice Chancellor of IT Client Services, and the lead on the “Get IT” project. “So, we’re converting a lot of Academic Affairs staff and faculty from standard desktop computers to laptops with docking stations to provide the flexibility of working on or off campus.”

Lyons also cited Quan Nguyen, Manager of IT Desktop Services, and his team as instrumental in conducting the preparatory work for the “Get IT” program, and the Client Services team for their efforts on the project overall.

“Different departments inside of IT came together, and different departments inside of the university came together to meet the needs of faculty and staff so that our students could continue their education,” said Lyons.

Fortunately, the “Get IT” program will continue beyond the era of fully remote working, teaching, and learning at UMass Boston.

“It’s long-term planning,” said Lyons. “We’ve proven to ourselves that we can support IT business continuity amidst a global pandemic and going forward, the ‘Get IT’ technology loaner program has laid the foundation for a modern and flexible workplace of the future.”