What's New AY20-21

This page describes updates in process and policies in consideration of the health and safety of our staff and community for the AY20-21, and notes as we transition and prepare for this academic year.

Equipment Reservations Only (No Walk-In Requests)

In order to prevent traffic and aid in the de-densification of our loan locations, we will not be permitting walk-in requests for equipment. All clients must log in to the Equipment Reservation System to schedule a reservation pickup time. Reservations must be scheduled at least an hour before pick up, as this provides sufficient time for our team to review, collect and prepare your loan. There is a 60 minute grace period after the reservation start time. If that time elapses, the reservation will be auto-canceled and the equipment may be available for others to reserve.

Note for Fall 2021: As we prepare for the Fall 2021 academic year, reservations will continue to be a required method for requesting and securing equipment.

Limited Number of Reservations Per Hour

To further aid in de-densifying loan locations and prevent several individuals from arriving at the same time for pickup, there will be a limit of no more than 15 reservations per hour. If you are unable to schedule a pickup for the hour window due to this, we suggest looking toward a later time. While the 60-minute grace period remains present, these efforts help to enable approximately 1 pickup every 10 minutes.

Circulation Limits Increased

We have modified the circulation limits for all equipment. To prevent high circulation, we've increased the maximum loan duration to 14 days (the previous maximum was 7 days). Equipment cannot be reserved back-to-back and will be restricted to 1 allocation only; either an active checkout or a future reservation, but both are not possible.

Note for Fall 2021: After Summer Session B concludes (Friday, August 13th), equipment circulation limits will return to a maximum of 7-days.

Equipment Pickups & Returns

Digital Media Advisors will review upcoming reservations routinely across the day to retrieve and prepare equipment for reservation pickups. By submitting a Reservation Request, you will be agreeing to all Loan Program Policies. In lieu of a printed contract requiring clients to sign and return to DMS at pickup, a printed 'agreement form' will identify the same information as the Loan Contract. Equipment will be stored behind our designated loan pickup locations and placed on a cart at the time of pickup to reduce contact.

A separate location for equipment returns will be designated for clients to place equipment for advisors to then review and return the equipment. Upon check-in, equipment will be wiped down and cleaned using a UV Sanitization cabinet prior to being returned to our storage cabinets or re-circulated. Hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes are readily available at all service desks and we encourage all clients to use them before receiving equipment and upon return.

Equipment Availability Adjustments

Some equipment categories and kits will not be available for loan at this time, whether due to prioritization for Technology Continuity Loans (a program that was temporarily available from March 2020 - August 2021) or due to size and cleaning complexity. This includes the following equipment categories:

Prioritized for Continuity Loans

• Laptops (both Mac & PC)
• Webcams
• Wired Headsets

Note for Summer 2021: As we prepare for the Fall 2021 academic year, the above resources are actively being returned, received, and prepared for the fall semester. Access for these items via self-service reservation will resume the first day of the Fall Semester on Monday, August 30th, 2021.

Our service locations continue to operate with plexiglass in place as a high traffic location. Hand Sanitizer and sanitizing wipes provided by the University will continue to be available at our service desks for client use. We will continue to monitor University Health & Safety messaging in the event of any adjustments or updates.

As we resume on-campus services, our student worker support team will assist with both Equipment Loan circulations and Lab/Poster Printing support as Digital Media Advisors. We hope to return to our specialized student worker roles of Equipment & Video and Print & Design in the subsequent academic year. We're hiring! Visit our Employment page to learn more.