Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Owning a computer may become mandatory
By Jordan Blum
Staff Reporter

TCU is in the early planning stages of requiring students to purchase computers that meet minimum acceptance requirements. Assistant Provost for Information Services Dave Edmondson said he hopes the program will increase students’ technological abilities.

No timeline or minimum standards have been set so far.

Although several universities require all students to have laptops, Edmondson said TCU does not anticipate adopting any policy that would force students to have a particular computer brand or model, which is the case with laptop requirements.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, more large universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University are requiring incoming students to purchase laptops, either as part of increased tuition or based on minimum requirements. The article said there was controversy as to whether these programs are worth the money spent by the universities and the students.

Costs for the computers are still uncertain, but Edmondson said the university would provide some kind of financial aid or loans to students who cannot afford computers.

Students would have the option to choose between desktops or laptops, he said.

Miriam Moore, vice chancellor for information technology at Chapel Hill, told The Chronicle their laptop program encourages faculty members to invest the time and effort to integrate technology with instruction. She also said the university saves money by not having to build or renovate computer labs.

However, Leo Munson, associate vice chancellor for academic support, said programs like Chapel Hill’s are saving the administration money by passing the costs onto the students.

TCU spent $2,300 to $2,400 a piece on new computers for labs and renovated classrooms on campus. Munson said he doesn’t think a student would be willing to pay that much for a laptop and then be expected to haul it to a classroom.

With the possible requirements, Edmondson said he feels computer labs on campus will have a minimal role in student learning.

“I think that when we do this, we will probably eliminate some labs and not have to continue to maintain them so much,” Edmondson said

Arthur Busbey, chair for the computer and telecommunications committee and faculty e-learning director, said TCU has been slowly moving toward becoming a digital campus because expensive laptop programs that require classroom desks to be Internet-ready have been underutilized by students and faculty.

“The picture administrators at these schools paint to the outside world is one of total harmony and that everything works great,” Busbey said. “But if you talk to the students you realize that a lot of the technology is being wasted.”

Charles Garrison, director of academic technology at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, said Notebook Project — providing laptop computers to incoming freshman as part of increased tuition costs — has been successful.

Garrison said St. Mary’s trained their faculty on technology, increased bandwidth and wired most of the classroom desks for Internet access as the initial steps for the program.

“On campus you’ll see a great deal of students carrying their laptops to classes just like a backpack,” Garrison said. “Faculty use computers to the point where, in some classes, if students don’t bring their laptops it’s like an absence because they’ll miss so much.”

However, Edmondson said solely using laptop computers was not the answer when he visited Wake Forest a few years ago to see how their program worked.

“They raised their tuition tremendously and gave every student a laptop,” Edmondson said. “You know how many students I saw carrying laptops across campus? Zero.

They told me one of the worst decisions they made was wiring every classroom and every classroom seat because students don’t bring their computers to class.”

Munson said wiring the classrooms is a waste because technology will soon be moving to wireless. He said further decisions can be made once wireless technology becomes readily available.

“Where we’re at in technology today, in my simplistic view, having a computer in class is just like having a pen and notebook,” Munson said.

Jordan Blum
j.d.blum@student.tcu.edu