Union City Public Schools
How one New Jersey district manages 17,000 Chromebooks with a team that used to drown in spreadsheets
The Challenge
Union City Public Schools is one of the largest 1:1 Chromebook districts in New Jersey, serving 17,000 students across multiple buildings in Bergen County. Every student gets a Chromebook. Every Chromebook needs to be tracked, assigned, maintained, and eventually collected.
Before UserAuthGuard, the IT team relied on a patchwork of Google Sheets, Google Admin Console, and manual processes. Tracking which student had which device required cross-referencing multiple systems. When a device went missing, there was no quick way to identify who was responsible. End-of-year collection was a multi-week ordeal of chasing down unaccounted devices.
The Google Admin Console showed devices in organizational units, but there was no enforcement — devices could be moved between OUs without IT knowing, breaking filtering policies and creating security gaps. Repair tracking lived in yet another spreadsheet, disconnected from device assignments.
"UserAuthGuard saves our IT team countless hours every week. The Google Admin Console automation alone has been transformative for managing 17,000 devices. This should be mandatory for every school."
The Solution
Union City deployed UserAuthGuard across the entire district in under two hours. The platform connected to their Google Admin Console via the official API, importing all 17,000+ Chromebook records instantly. No manual data entry. No migration project.
The IT team immediately gained a single source of truth for device assignments. Every Chromebook is assigned to a specific student with a complete audit trail — who had it, when they got it, when they returned it, and what condition it was in. No more cross-referencing spreadsheets.
Implementation Timeline
Google Admin Connection
Connected UserAuthGuard to Google Workspace via OAuth. All 17,000+ device records imported automatically. Completed in under 30 minutes.
Device Assignment Import
Imported existing student-device assignment data via CSV bulk upload. Matched serial numbers to student records across all buildings.
OU Policy Configuration
Set up OU locking rules to prevent unauthorized device movement. Configured per-school and per-grade organizational units.
Repair Center Launch
Configured repair queue with custom workflow stages, technician assignments, and parts inventory. Replaced the repair spreadsheet entirely.
The Results
Within the first semester, Union City saw dramatic improvements across every metric they tracked.
Device loss dropped 75% because students know every device is tracked to them personally. When a Chromebook goes missing, the IT team can instantly identify who had it last and when — accountability alone eliminated most "lost" devices.
IT tickets dropped 60% because common issues (wrong OU, unassigned device, repair status questions) were handled automatically or through self-service. Teachers could check repair status without emailing IT.
The 95% teacher satisfaction rate came from the combination of faster repairs, better device availability, and the confidence that every student has a working, properly configured Chromebook.
Managing a large 1:1 program?
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