First group of students receive their free iPad bundles at Bluefield College

Charles Owens, Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

Aug. 3—BLUEFIELD, Va. — Students returning to Bluefield College this month will be equipped with new iPad bundles, and they will be allowed to keep the devices after graduation as part of a new partnership with Apple.

A team of about 18 student leaders received their bundles Monday, which includes iPad Air 4, Smart Keyboard, and Apple Pencil 2 devices, according to Rebecca Kasey with the office of public relations and marketing at Bluefield College.

Kasey said fall student-athletes will receive their iPad bundles on August 12 and returning and new students will receive their free equipment on August 17. The fall semester begins on August. 18.

It's all a part of the 'RAMSConnect' partnership between the college and Apple.

"Some of them just actually found out about that today," Kasey said of the students who received their free equipment Monday morning. "They were really excited."

The goal of the program is to ensure students have equal access to their classroom experience.

Bluefield College Student Government Association President Isaiah Rife was among those student leaders to receive their iPad bundles Monday.

"The iPad (initiative) shows that the faculty and staff at Bluefield College care about us (students) and want us to succeed," Rife said in a press release issued by the college Monday afternoon. "They want everyone to have an equal opportunity to do the best they can with their school work and to succeed after college."

"As a graphic design student, I'm really excited to do some designs on it with the Apple Pencil that I've never had available before," Laura Kimzey, a senior at BC, added in the press release. "I'm excited to learn how to use it."

The RAMSConnect initiative also seeks to save students money through more cost-effective digital textbooks and apps, which are also more current than traditional textbook.

Dr. Marshall Flowers, vice president of Academic Affairs at Bluefield College, said the new equipment will allow the students to utilize livestream and lecture capture sessions, eTextbooks, and the new online learning platform, Canvas.

— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens