CU Boulder and CSU Pueblo are partnering on a research study to investigate whether lending laptop computers improves graduation rates and other academic performance indicators for firstyear students with unmet financial need.

The opportunity for the study emerged during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when CU Boulder educators and technologists became concerned that students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds might fall behind academically because they lacked access to technology after classes and educational programs went fully remote.

The concerned faculty and staff launched the Technology Assistance for Student Success program, a four-year pilot that will gather data to assess the impact of technology lending on success and retention among selected low-income students at CU Boulder and CSU Pueblo.

If the pilot demonstrates that lending laptops to study participants improves student success indicators, the researchers plan to seek permanent funding for the program.