Computer Requirements and Purchasing Recommendations

Some New River academic programs require specific software to complete the course objectives, activities, and assessments. Please consult with your Instructor so they can identify any course-specific software or hardware requirements.

Computer labs are available on every campus for students during campus operational hours and are configured with the software needed for all academic programs. Every student can also download a licensed version of Microsoft Office 365 to install on their personal computers from our New River portal.

We discourage the purchase or use of Chromebooks since Microsoft discontinued support for Office 365 on these devices in 2021. While Mac OS computers support Microsoft Office 365, that support is not equal to the support provided for Windows computers. For example, Office 365 includes Access, Forms, and Planner applications for Windows computers there are no similar versions of Access, Forms, and Planner for Mac OS.

As a result, New River limits computer recommendations to Windows computers. We provide detailed recommendations that are updated periodically to remain current on this page:

https://web.newriver.edu/procedures/computer_replacements.html