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TechConnect

TechConnect provides technology discounts, and recommendations for hardware, and software for personal use. This has been compiled by various groups within Information Technology Services. As technology needs continue to grow and expand, we strive to keep TechConnect up-to-date. If any information is out of date or you have additional recommendations, please contact us.

Departmental Purchases

Visit Departmental Purchases to learn more about purchasing equipment and technology for your department.

Laptops, Personal Computers and Multimedia Equipment

Loyola University Chicago does not require students to have a personal computer. However, it is highly recommended. Whether you purchase a desktop or a laptop computer, it is important to balance quality and performance with cost. Recommended specifications for Mac and PC can be found in the sections below.

Apple Affinity Discount Program

Although Loyola University Chicago does not require students to have a personal computer, it is recommended. Whether you purchase a laptop or desktop computer, tablet or other productivity devices, it is important to balance quality and performance with cost. This store is customized by Apple in order to provide educational discounts for a variety of Apple products. Consider these recommendations/minimum requirements as reviewed by ITS:

Apple ComputersRecommendedMinimum
Processor Core i7 Core i5
Memory 8 GB 4 GB
Hard Drive 500GB SSD 256GB SSD
Wireless Card 802.11/a/c 802.11/a/c
Optical Drives DVD-RW (Optional) DVD-RW (Optional)
Warranty AppleCare Protection Plan AppleCare Protection Plan

Lenovo Affinity Discount Program

Although Loyola University Chicago does not require students to have a personal computer, it is recommended. Whether you purchase a laptop or desktop computer, tablet or other productivity devices, it is important to balance quality and performance with cost. This store is customized by Lenovo in order to provide educational discounts for a variety of Lenovo PC hardware and software.

While there are many PC manufacturers to select from, consider these recommendations/minimum requirements as reviewed by ITS:

Windows ComputersRecommendedMinimum
Processor Core i5 Core i3
Memory 8 GB 4 GB
Hard Drive 256GB SSD 256GB SSD
Wireless Card 802.11a/c 802.11a/c
Optical Drives DVD-RW (Optional) DVD-RW (Optional)
Warranty 3 year (parts and labor) 2 year (parts and labor)

B&HPhotoVideo Discount Program

B&HPhotoVideo offers a wide array of multimedia equipment, tools, and technologies like cameras, camcorders, lighting, and so much more.

  • Students can sign up directly on the website with your @luc.edu email and verify their status through Unidays process.
  • Faculty and Staff can register or sign-up at on-campus events or email kathh AT bhphoto DOT com from your @luc.edu account to request an EDU account for personal discounted pricing.

Mobile & Cellular Provider Discounts

AT&T Discounts

Loyola University students, faculty and staff are eligible for discounts on personal devices and plans.

If you already an AT&T Customer and would like to enroll in these discounts, visit att.com/discounts to register. Enter your cellphone and email address. The employee or student is required to be the primary line on the account for validation process. The discount is available to AT&T customers who are using AT&T Wireless postpaid offers. If you don't have a Loyola email address, visit your local AT&T Corporate retail store.

Verizon Discounts

Loyola University faculty and staff are eligible to get service discount from Verizon on personal devices and plans. Click on the Validate by Paystub link from Verizon's page to begin this process.

T-Mobile Discounts

Loyola University faculty and staff are eligible to get service discounts from T-Mobile on personal plans.

  • Faculty/Staff switching to T-Mobile: Take advantage of the Work Perks offer which is a savings of up to $200 on T-Mobile's most popular rate plan, Magenta MAX.
  • Faculty/Staff currently with T-Mobile: call T-Mobile’s Business Direct Telesales at 877-334-7099 and ask about how you can participate. One new voice line required, with verification of employment within 30 days of new line activation.

Software Suites & Discount Hubs

Microsoft Office (Free!)

All students, faculty and staff have the ability to download and install Microsoft Office desktop applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, etc) on up to 5 personal devices. Microsoft Office365 also affords numerous online suite of resources like OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and more.

Microsoft Discounts (OnTheHub)

Loyola University Chicago students can take advantage of academic pricing for software from Varsity Buys including other Microsoft products such as Windows 10.

Adobe Creative Cloud Discounts

Loyola University Chicago students can take advantage of academic pricing for software from Adobe directly from their Adobe Creative Cloud Student & Teachers plan. Additionally, Adobe offers Adobe Creative Cloud Express as a free set of online tools with design and image editing in mind.

Adobe Online File Converters

Adobe offers several free, web-based tools to convert files from one file type to another including:

Adobe Free QR Code Generator

Looking for a free QR Code Generator without any risk of your users seeing spam, advertisments or the QR code no longer working in the future if created from a generic QR code generator site? Look no further than Adobe to help you! Just sign in with your Loyola email address and you can easily convert any hyperlink to a QR code. This includes different QR style and color options as well as direct download of the image file in several formats.

Scientific and Statistical Tools

Fore more information on Statistical, Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA), and Online Survey Applications, please visit the Academic Research Technologies page. This includes any locations on-campus that may have limited license access and/or request for installation on faculty/staff desktops.

Statistics Applications Discounts (OnTheHub)

Loyola University Chicago students, faculty and staff can take advantage of academic pricing for software from OnTheHub including various Statistics applications including products from IBM SPSS, Minitab, NVivo, JMP, EViews, and more.

Mathematica

Mathematica is the world’s most powerful global computing environment. Ideal for use in engineering, mathematics, finance, physics, chemistry, biology, and a wide range of other fields, it makes possible a new level of automation in algorithmic computation, interactive manipulation, and dynamic presentation—as well as a whole new way of interacting with the world of data.

In order to obtain Mathematica 10 for Loyola Faculty and Students, follow these steps:

  1. Visit the Wolfram User Portal and register with a valid Loyola email address (@luc.edu).
  2. This will create an automated email which requires a response to validate the portal account.
  3. Once you have validated your Wolfram Portal Account, login and complete the Wolfram Activation Key Request Form.
  4. Complete the form with all required information including your name, email and department. Select a product and platform and click Submit.
  5. Upon completion of the form, your personalized Activation Key will be presented in order to activate the full application license.

IBM SPSS Modeler & SPSS Statistics

SPSS is a full-featured data analysis program that offers a variety of applications including data base managements and reporting, statistical analysis, and graphics.‌

HLM

Hierarchical Linear Modeling and Non-Hierarchical Linear Modeling software from SSI, International is available to students for use on their personal computers at no cost. The student edition, while free, limits the size of the model you may analyze and technical support is not available. Faculty who wish to try out HLM on their personal computers can download a free trial version which is good for 15 days.

Lisrel

Lisrel is a Structural Equation Modeling software from SSI, International is available to students for use on their personal computers at no cost. The student edition, while free, limits the size of the model you may analyze and technical support is not available. 

Minitab

Comprehensive statistics package to analyze data and improve products and services.

NVivo

NVivo is software that helps you to work with unstructured information like documents, surveys, audio, video and pictures—so that you can ultimately make better decisions.

SAS

SAS provides a technology platform for market-leading analytic applications. Although there is no free trial, through SAS Fellowship Program, students can apply for research grant from SAS to use software free for their research projects for 6 months.‌

SYSTAT

A statistics and statistical graphics software package.

Security Products

This section provides recommendations related to Security Products for use on personal devices.

Anti-Virus

Visit the University Information Security Office (UISO) page to learn more about Anti-Virus software applications here.

Prey Anti-Theft Tracking

Prey is a complete anti-theft application that lets you track and locate your lost or stolen iPhone, iPad and Mac laptop. Locate and recover your device with geolocation and many more features.

Absolute Home & Office

Absolute Home & Office helps businesses and individuals track, manage, secure and recover computers. Remote data and device security features to prevent use of a lost laptop, protect privacy remotely and map a laptop's location. This service includes a dedicated theft recovery team that works with local law enforcement to track a stolen laptop.

EXO5

Track and locate laptops, smartphones and tablets. Prevent asset theft and data breaches with anti-theft countermeasure including hard drive lockout, out-of-band file encryption and full disk encryption PIN revocation.

Personal Device Security Disclaimer: It is important to note that no software application or hardware device has a guarantee of recovery if your device is lost or stolen. If your device is stolen, please do not use these tools to put yourself in a dangerous situation. Contact the appropriate authorities if you have information that may aid in the return of your equipment.

Last Modified:   Thu, January 11, 2024 8:57 AM CST

TechConnect provides technology discounts, and recommendations for hardware, and software for personal use. This has been compiled by various groups within Information Technology Services. As technology needs continue to grow and expand, we strive to keep TechConnect up-to-date. If any information is out of date or you have additional recommendations, please contact us.

Departmental Purchases

Visit Departmental Purchases to learn more about purchasing equipment and technology for your department.

Laptops, Personal Computers and Multimedia Equipment

Loyola University Chicago does not require students to have a personal computer. However, it is highly recommended. Whether you purchase a desktop or a laptop computer, it is important to balance quality and performance with cost. Recommended specifications for Mac and PC can be found in the sections below.

Mobile & Cellular Provider Discounts

Software Suites & Discount Hubs

Scientific and Statistical Tools

Fore more information on Statistical, Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA), and Online Survey Applications, please visit the Academic Research Technologies page. This includes any locations on-campus that may have limited license access and/or request for installation on faculty/staff desktops.

Security Products

This section provides recommendations related to Security Products for use on personal devices.

Personal Device Security Disclaimer: It is important to note that no software application or hardware device has a guarantee of recovery if your device is lost or stolen. If your device is stolen, please do not use these tools to put yourself in a dangerous situation. Contact the appropriate authorities if you have information that may aid in the return of your equipment.