Nontrivial Exercises

The Most Connected College Campuses

How “connected” was your college dorm? Mine had a phone line, electricity, a window and 5 digit dialing for on-campus phone extensions. The year after I moved out they installed cable tv connections in each room, but I don’t regret not having that distraction available for me. Although somewhat technologically spartan, my dorm wasn’t too uncommon, and that was not too many years ago (it wasn’t 1976, by the way  ).

Today’s college dorms must meet the increased needs of today’s students for Internet connectivity and availability of technology tools. Forbes has an article reviewing the third annual edition of the Princeton Review’s Most Connected Campuses report.

The report evaluated the following factors in determining which campuses offered the best connections to students:

• Campus Network – Does the school have a campus wide data network?
• Wireless Network – Is there a wireless network on some portion of the campus?
• Remote Access – Can students access their e-mail when they are away from campus?
• Online Courses – Does the school offer for-credit courses delivered online?
• Registration – Can students register for classes online?
• Online Administrative Functions – Are administrative functions other than registration, such as tuition payments, adding or dropping courses, available online?
• Computer Purchase – Does the school have a special pricing, discount or resale agreement with hardware vendors?
• Handheld Computing – Does the school have special programs or course work available specifically for handheld devices, or specifically offers information technology support for these devices?
• Streaming Courses – Does the school stream audio or video of any of its courses online?
• Dorm Access – Is network access available in dorm rooms?
• Lounge Access – Is network access available in dormitory lounges?
• Ethics – Is a computer ethics policy in place for the school?
• Usenet – Is a USENET feed available to students?
• Computers Provided – Does the school’s tuition include a computer for each student?
• Multimedia Equipment – Does the school provide multimedia equipment like digital cameras, digital video cameras, scanners or professional-quality printers?
• Emerging Curricula – Does the school offer courses in computer security, videogaming or robotics?
• Digital Streaming – Does the school do any Webcasting or digital audio or video streaming of campus radio or TV stations?
• Student Owned Computers – What is the percentage of undergraduates who own computers?

Which college campuses were the most connected? Check the article above from Forbes to see the top 25 (or see the list on PrincetonReview.com. Of note for fellow Dallasites: SMU made the top 25.

Also check out the photo slideshow comparing college technology in 1976 vs. 2006.