Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

BYOD FAQ and Specifications

Merici College’s laptop (BYOD) program requires all students to have a laptop of their choice for school. Students can choose to bring either a Mac laptop or a Windows laptop which can be purchased through a school vendor or from a retail outlet. We support these laptops via 2 streams as “Home supported BYOD” and “School Supported BYOD”. The “BYOD Frequently Asked Questions” page answers the most common queries about the BYOD program. You can also direct enquiries to byod@merici.act.edu.au.

BYOD Recommended Specifications

All laptops purchased from one of our partners linked at the bottom of this page meets our specifications, please reference this table if you are purchasing from an outside retailer

Media Focus is ideal for students that are choosing to study Media, Photography, Graphic Design, Music Production or Video Production using the Adobe suite, Davinci Resolve or Sibelius.

We strongly recommend that you take our extended ADP or laptop specific insurance, schools are active environments and students are moving constantly between areas which increses the risk of damage to laptops.

ADP/AppleCare+ will be seperately quoted to you when you purchase from one of our partners, please make sure you purchase this as we utilise this to streamline the repair process for you and in many cases these repairs can be done at no extra cost to you.

WiFi 5

If the laptop does not have 11a wireless it will not be able to connect to the Merici wireless network. Most business-class laptops will support the standard, however this is not guaranteed so please be sure to check this before committing to purchase a laptop. Unfortunately many (if not most) cheaper home-class laptops don’t support the latest 11a wifi, even the latest models. In this case, you can purchase a USB dongle that supports 11a wireless online or from retailers such as JB-HiFi, however it is recommended to have the latest wifi capability built-in. A full list of minimum specifications can be viewed on the BYOD Specifications page. Your daughter can still bring the laptop to the IT Service Centre but we will only be able to provide basic support for our core online services such as OneDrive for business, SEQTA and Office 365. We will make recommendations to your daughter about possible courses of action but you will be responsible for any repairs as well as making alternative arrangements for access to a temporary device which you will have to supply.

School Supported BYOD

For families that are daunted by the choice BYOD offers and the technical specifications the school requires, Merici College together with EducomIT and LWT (Learning With Technologies) have put together serviced packages for you. All laptops come with extended 3-year manufacturer warranties (battery warranties may vary) and access to extended troubleshooting, diagnosis, helpdesk tracking and support at the Merici IT Service Centre. The IT Service Centre will receive, prepare and issue the laptop to your daughter so she can be up and running at school when it arrives. Many of these services cannot be extended to regular consumer devices due to the large range of models, configurations, build qualities and warranty arrangements. To ensure that your daughter’s school-supported laptop is ready to use at the start of the school year, please put in your order by November 20. Laptops can still be ordered after this date. Some of the additional services we provide for these laptops are:

• Management of initial software loadout
• Pre-configuration of some programs and settings
• Operating system repair and re-imaging when problems occur
• Full level 1 and level 2 technical support for hardware and software
• Repair tracking for both on and off-site repairs
• Job history is recorded in our helpdesk
• Hot-swap laptops are available for extended repair times (if available)
• EducomIT have also extended their services for Apple MacBooks to Merici College and will provide servicing for warranty repairs

HP laptops come with accidental damage protection for a small excess and gives you piece of mind with full on-site servicing at the College that includes replacement for broken LCDs or other key components not normally covered under standard warranty. Please be aware that the college is not reselling or leasing these laptops to you, nor purchasing these laptops on your behalf. You are purchasing the laptop direct from a third-party vendor. While we are offering a considerable array of services for these laptops, you may be directed by our staff to contact the vendor to resolve rare issues that we cannot handle such as insurance claims.

Purchase Windows laptop

Purchase Mac laptop

MAC Portal Password: BYOD (all capitals)