The Mobile
Computer Service (MCS) is a service provided by the Computing
Services Centre (CSC) to allow students to access the campus
network and the Internet via the wireless LAN to facilitate
their studies. All full-time and part-time students in the
main campus are eligible to borrow notebook computers (notebooks)
from the MCS Counter for campus use. Students can reserve
notebooks online through a web-based Computer Reservation
System (CRS), and all loan notebooks must be returned on the
same day. The demand for the MCS has been increasing since
the service was launched in 2003. In the last academic year,
more than 8,000 students used the service.
In view
of the popularity of the MCS, starting from Semester A 2005,
300 additional notebooks (with built-in wireless LAN network
card) are acquired, and a total of 620 notebooks are provided
for student use. In the second week of this semester, we already
recorded a daily usage rate of more than 300 during the weekdays.
Momentum is bound to build up as more and more students receive
their class assignments.
Besides
adding more notebooks, we have also studied the needs of students,
the mode of operation of the MCS counter, and the Computer
Reservation System (CRS) in order to improve our service.
The original two half-day loan sessions were merged into one
whole-day loan session to provide more flexibility of the
loan period to students. Apart from that, a new point system
is adopted in the CRS where points are calculated based on
the length of the loan period. The new point system encourages
students to borrow notebooks on a need basis only and to return
their notebook as soon as they have finished using it instead
of holding the notebooks. This arrangement will, on the one
hand, increase the availability and circulation of notebooks
especially during peak periods, and on the other, prevent
large number of notebooks from returning to the MCS Counter
towards the end of the loan session.
| |
Original
Scheme
|
New
Scheme
|
| Number
of Notebook Computers |
320
|
620
|
| Loan
Session |
Two
half day session
|
One
full day session
|
|
P
o
i
n
t
S
y
s
t
e
m*
|
1.
Make a reservation
|
+1
|
0
|
|
2.
Cancel a reservation before loan session starts
|
0
|
0
|
|
3.
Cancel a reservation after loan session starts
|
+1
|
Number
of hours[1] elapsed after the start of the loan session
|
|
4.
No show
|
+2
|
+12
|
|
5.
Loan out
|
+2
|
0
|
|
6.
Return by due time
|
0
|
Number
of loan hours[1]
|
|
7.
Late return (on the same day)
|
+2
|
Number
of loan hours[1]
|
|
8.
Late return (subsequent days)
|
+3
(plus $100 fine per day)
|
3
+ Number of loan hours[1] (plus $100 fine per day)
|
|
Point
reset
|
Points
are reset on the first day of each month
|
Item
1-6 & 7-8 are reset 30 &180 days later respectively
|
| [1]
Number of (loan) hours will be truncated to whole integer. |
* Students
can use the web-based Computer
Reservation System (CRS) to make reservation for a
notebook. A point system is adopted to calculate the points
obtained from each reservation, checkout, cancellation, late
return, etc. by students, and three priority classes are set
for them according to the points they accumulated.
