Moraine Park Technical College Elevates Learning
Boosting reliability and security for hybrid learning with proven technology from HP
INDUSTRY: Higher education.
OBJECTIVE: Manage hardware, software, and security needs for a hybrid learning environment across multiple campuses.
APPROACH: Using HP solutions, MPTC delivers a reliable and secure hybrid learning environment, increasing flexibility for students, faculty, and staff.
IMPACT: Modern devices and services boost efficiency for IT staff while delivering the most value from a limited budget, providing reliable connectivity and performance to all users creating a consistent and uninterrupted experience.
Creating New Opportunities for Student Success
Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) is a thriving college in central Wisconsin, serving almost 14,000 students annually. With campuses in Beaver Dam, Fond du Lac, and West Bend, the college offers six types of degrees and more than 100 programs and customized training opportunities. Across all its programs, MPTC focuses on providing the right tools to support both in-classroom and online learning, so students can learn from virtually anywhere.
For years, MPTC has relied on virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to enable remote access to learning resources. The college can manage IT costs by deploying thin clients and entry-level devices for connecting to the VDI environment. But when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the need for 100% virtual instruction threw the college’s IT team for a curveball.
As Aaron Flora, desktop technician at MPTC, explains, “We had to brainstorm how to quickly transition three campuses with thousands of students and hundreds of employees to fully hybrid learning.” Different classrooms and labs had a “hodgepodge” of meeting room technologies, and delivering a consistent, reliable learning experience seemed nearly impossible. That’s where HP technology came in.
MPTC deployed more than 100 HP Elite Slice devices in just three months, so the college could continue its courses without a hitch. “By the summer of 2020, we were ready to continue instruction remotely and in hybrid environments. There was no need to physically be at the campus or in a classroom,” says Flora. “The HP hardware enabled us to make this transition in a very short time — and do it well. Everything came together and worked just fine. Students were happy. And it was a great personal experience for me.”
“HP is just better across the board. Their support is top-notch, and I have easy access to all the resources I need.”
Aaron Flora
Desktop Technician, Moraine Park Technical College
Trusted Technology for Campus Operations
According to Flora, flexibility for students and instructors is an ongoing priority at MPTC. The college needs modern devices to ensure fast access to interactive learning. At the same time, he says devices need to be easy for IT staff to manage, in order to minimize downtime for students. Flora shared horror stories of old devices going down; he needed to spend all day on the phone with technical support only to send the device in for service anyways. That kind of delay really inhibits operations.
“HP makes it easier to support and maintain devices, so you’re not spending all your time troubleshooting them,” says Flora. “As much as other brands are touted, there’s not a lot of expertise among our end users. There would be a huge learning curve if we switched out our devices.”
Compatibility is another critical issue for educational technology. Some departments at MPTC, such as the nursing department, use non-HP tablets for working at regional clinics and hospitals. But according to Flora, “It’s harder to manage those 10 devices than it is to manage 100 HP laptops.” Integration with Active Directory and day-to-day support is also more complex.
Flora continued to share that transitioning to any other brand wouldn’t be worth the labor his team would need to put in. “There’s more effort needed to deploy them and a lack of confidence in their ongoing maintenance,” he says. “An update could break the whole fleet.” He is not seeing other offerings that meet the current and future needs of the campus like HP.
In addition to solid reliability, HP supports the college’s 37-person IT team with expert services and streamlined web resources — from driver packs to troubleshooting resources to automated scanning services. “HP has the experience and know-how for our needs. We recently had an in-depth security audit and had no concerns, especially when it comes to hardware,” says Flora.
Faculty, staff, and students at Moraine Park Technical College are safe from threats with the strong protections on HP devices. Even though the education sector is prone to cyber attacks, HP devices with built-in HP Wolf Security and Windows 11 provide chip-to-the-cloud endpoint security out of the box. Users and their data are protected, no matter where learning happens.
“Design quality, reliability and durability have made HP the best choice for us.”
Aaron Flora
Desktop Technician, Moraine Park Technical College
Reliable, Quality Devices Without Compromising Budgets
These days, MPTC needs to push its technology budget as far as possible to help broaden access to advanced learning. Flora says that devices are refreshed on a three-year lifecycle, and the main goal is to ensure compatibility with existing systems. The affordability and reliable performance of HP devices is a great fit for the college’s needs.
“As long as devices can connect to the VDI environment, we look for the least amount that we can spend,” says Flora. “The good thing about HP is that ‘low cost’ doesn’t mean cheap or low quality. They’re still reliable and support all the applications that we need.”
At MPTC, students and instructors need laptops that can quickly connect to the hybrid learning environment — wherever and whenever needed. Since HP makes it easier to support, secure, and manage these devices, Flora and his IT colleagues can concentrate on more strategic initiatives.
“From deploying BIOS upgrades to doing a warranty RMA, HP processes are simple and straightforward. So, we can focus on other areas,” says Flora. “From my perspective, HP is a joy to work with.”
MPTC plans to continue supporting hybrid learning with new HP devices and key connectivity tools, including Zoom, Teams, and Slack. Students and staff can use Adobe Creative Cloud to engage in creative processes without being tied to a specific location. HP solutions help the MPTC team orchestrate a better end-user experience, weaving in-person and remote learning together seamlessly.
Flora concludes that HP reliability gives MPTC the freedom to push the boundaries of the traditional classroom with total confidence. “HP technology just works. It’s really great to work with hardware that works really well.”
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