Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for a laptop, students must meet the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in a minimum of three credit hours at Galveston College.
• Have their semester enrollment paid in full or have satisfactory payment arrangements with the Business Office.
• Have no academic, financial, or other holds that prevent eligibility.

Meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee that a laptop will be available.

Laptop Distribution

Approved students will receive instructions through their Whitecaps email regarding when and where to pick up their laptop.

At the time of distribution:

• The laptop is provided to the student at no cost.
• The laptop does not need to be returned to Galveston College.
• The laptop becomes the student's responsibility upon receipt.
• The laptop is provided as is, based on its condition at the time of distribution.
• Galveston College does not guarantee the condition, remaining useful life, battery performance, or continued operation of the laptop.
• Galveston College is not responsible for repairs, replacement, maintenance, data recovery, or other hardware-related expenses after the laptop has been distributed.
• Receipt of a laptop does not guarantee that another device will be provided if the laptop is subsequently damaged, lost, stolen, or stops working.

Students are responsible for protecting their files and are encouraged to regularly back up important documents using OneDrive or another secure storage solution.

 Apply Now

Once distributed, these laptops are treated the same as any other personally owned student computer.

Galveston College will not provide ongoing hardware repair or maintenance for distributed laptops.

Students may continue to receive the same technology assistance available to students using their own personal devices, including assistance with:

• Galveston College account and password access
• Whitecaps Portal access
• Whitecaps email
• Microsoft 365 access
• Canvas access
• Other Galveston College systems and services supported by the College

Support provided by Galveston College is limited to College accounts, systems, applications, and services. Students are responsible for hardware repairs, operating system issues, personal software, viruses or malware, data recovery, and other problems associated with their personally owned device.

Microsoft 365

Currently enrolled Galveston College students have access to Microsoft 365 using their Galveston College student account.

Students who need assistance accessing Microsoft 365 or their Galveston College account may contact the IT Service Desk.

Canvas and Whitecaps Portal

Students are responsible for regularly accessing Canvas, Whitecaps Portal, and their Whitecaps email for course information and official College communications.

Students experiencing problems accessing their Galveston College account or College-supported systems may contact the appropriate College support office.

Microsoft Office 365

Galveston College provides free Microsoft Office 365 to students while they are actively and currently enrolled in courses of one credit or more. The service includes Office 2016 software downloads on up to 5 devices and 1 TB of OneDrive storage space. Students can activate their account at Microsoft Office 365.

Please refer to the Whitecaps Email and Microsoft Office 365 instructions for a guide to activating the account. Other helpful video training can be found at Microsoft 365 Basics Video Trainings.

Canvas - All students should be logging into Canvas daily to check their assignments, grades, and communication from your instructors. If you are having trouble accessing Canvas or features within Canvas, please reach out to the Distance Education department at [email protected], and they will assist you further. If you do decide to email the Distance Education department, please make sure to include:

· Your name

· Phone number

· Galveston College ID number

· Description of the issue you are having in Canvas

Make sure that you are checking your Whitecaps email regularly. Vital communication from the College will be sent to your Whitecaps email, including any replies to questions sent to [email protected].

Make sure that you have gone through the Canvas New Student Orientation if you have not done so already. The orientation is a quick and easy way to get familiar with the functions of Canvas. You can then find the New Student Orientation in the form of a link at the top of your Canvas Dashboard.

User ID and Password Information for Canvas:

Your Galveston College student ID is GC followed by your student ID, and your initial password is the same password you used to log into the Whitecaps portal.

Username – As provided to you by Admissions (EX. GC0123456)

Password – Login assistance is available through the GC IT Service Desk, 409-944-1352, Regents Building, R-120.

Whitecaps Email

Galveston College students should check their Whitecaps email several times daily. The College will make official announcements via Whitecaps email first. Students must use their Whitecaps email address to contact Galveston College advisers and staff. For guidance logging in use the Whitecaps Email and Microsoft Office 365 instructions. For help with email, contact [email protected] or visit https://gc.edu/access-your-student-email/.

Reduced Cost or Free Internet Access

As colleges across the country move classes and services online, access to reliable internet service is critical. Below is a list of several companies providing free or low-cost internet access during the current emergency. This is list is for informational purposes only. Galveston College does not have any affiliation or contract with any of the services listed below. For questions about the services listed below, contact the company directly.

Galveston College David Glenn Hunt Memorial Library services are accessible online. Students, faculty, and staff can access academic eBooks to support the curriculum, reference eBooks, leisure eBooks, article databases, eJournals, eMagazines, research guides, and video tutorials. The library also has a live chat service available during regular operating hours. Students can schedule individual online reference appointments, as well. All virtual services are accessible in one place for students, faculty, and staff.

The GC Library Online is designed to help students at a distance or taking online courses locate and use Galveston College library’s online resources and research tools. GC Library Online is also intended to help faculty and staff become more familiar with online library resources and services to help our students be successful in their research and use of the library. For assistance, contact [email protected] or view the library’s FAQ page https://gc.libanswers.com/.

Is this still a laptop loan?

No. Galveston College is sunsetting the Laptop Loan Program. Laptops distributed through the updated program are provided to approved students and do not have to be returned to the College.

Do I have to return the laptop at the end of the semester?

No. Once the laptop has been distributed to you, it does not need to be returned to Galveston College.

Is there a cost for the laptop?

No. Approved students receive the laptop at no cost.

Is the laptop new?

Not necessarily. Laptops are distributed as is and may have been previously used. Galveston College does not guarantee the condition, battery life, performance, or remaining useful life of a distributed laptop.

What happens if the laptop is damaged, lost, stolen, or stops working?

Once the laptop has been distributed, it is the student's responsibility. Galveston College will not repair or replace a distributed laptop because of loss, theft, damage, hardware failure, or other problems.

Will Galveston College provide technical support?

Support is limited to the same assistance Galveston College provides to students using their own personal computers. This may include assistance with College account access, password resets, Microsoft 365, Canvas, Whitecaps Portal, Whitecaps email, and other College-supported systems.

Galveston College does not provide hardware repair, maintenance, data recovery, or general repair services for personally owned computers.

Am I guaranteed to receive a laptop if I qualify?

No. Laptops are available in limited quantities. Meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee that a laptop will be available.

For questions regarding eligibility or the laptop distribution process, contact the office identified in your program communications.

For assistance accessing Galveston College technology systems, contact:

Galveston College IT Service Desk
Regents Hall, Room R-120
409-944-1352

[email protected]