Whether it’s VLAB, Tophat, Connect, or ProctorU, almost every student has had to use a third party service to complete their coursework. However, many of these services come with the drawbacks of being incompatible with some devices, being prone to errors and bugs, or both.

Apple and Windows PCs are the most popular computer choices among students, but these come with higher price tags than other options such as Chromebooks. Some third party applications, in particular ProctorU, do not work with Chromebooks and tablets. 

The current university recommendations for computers include audio input and output capabilities as well as video conferencing capabilities and 16 gigabytes of memory. After the recommendations, the page lists Dell, Lenovo and Apple as vendors LSU has established reduced pricing agreements with. However, the page goes on to say that Macs are not recommended for students.

Economics senior Lauryn Porter recently had compatibility issues with a software program she needed for her economics class, as well as a bad experience during a ProctorU exam that could have cost her an important test grade.

“[The test] started working on my Chromebook, and then something went wrong,” Porter said. “It made it look like I had taken the exam already, and I hadn’t, so I had to talk to customer service and talk to my professor and use another computer.”

Renewable natural resources sophomore Taylor Kinchen has had several computer issues, beginning with ProctorU her first semester and continuing with VLAB, a virtual lab program, this year.

“My first semester I had to take my calculus exams via ProctorU and it went horribly,” Kinchen said. “I had a Mac and it wouldn’t connect to my microphone or audio, even though those functions worked fine otherwise. The proctors couldn’t fix the issue, and I ended up having to buy a completely new laptop just to take exams for that class.”

Kinchen said she is almost never able to access VLAB for her statistics class because the program is often at maximum capacity. When she can’t get into the lab during the class period, she has to do it later on her own time. Even then, error messages often force her to restart the lab from scratch, which hinders her progress.

Statistics professor Kevin McCarter said that he does not recall VLAB connections being a major problem in previous years, and some of these issues may be the result of remote learning placing increased stress on the system. 

“It could be that because of the pandemic, people are doing more things remotely and they’re relying more on VLAB,” McCarter said. “We want those connections to be reliable, we want the software to be reliable.”

He added that his class is smaller, so it’s easier to work with students to resolve issues than it would be in an introductory level statistics course with hundreds of students.

Chemical engineering junior David Ascencio said he didn’t experience any problems with his Chromebook until his sophomore year, when he began having issues with ProctorU and a program for his biology lab. 

“They couldn’t do live proctoring with the Chromebook,” Ascencio said. “I had to ask other people for their laptops during finals and exams. Everybody else had their finals going on too.”

The statistics department recommends that students contact Information Technology Services directly when they are having issues, as they’re able to provide specific instructions tailored to each student’s computer setup.

One option for students is the Gear 2 Geaux program, which has Mac and Windows laptops and Chromebooks available for check-out at the LSU Library Access Services Desk. If there are no computers available, students can be put on a waiting list and Access Services will notify them when a computer becomes available. Students can also access the ITS Computer Labs in the LSU Library and Patrick F. Taylor Hall.