Electronic Campus plan calls for more student laptops

Rickman

Dr. Jon Rickman,
vice president for information systems

A report recently presented to Northwest's Board of Regents maps out changes and improvements proposed for Northwest's nationally recognized Electronic Campus over the next four years.

Submitted to the board by Dr. Jon Rickman, vice president for information systems, the blueprint analyzes the University's future computing and telecommunications needs and sets priorities for various technology initiatives.

Northwest was the first public university in the United States to build a true electronic campus. Switched on in 1987 -- exactly 20 years ago -- the system provided students with access to a networked terminal in every residence hall room.

Today, the Gateway Electronic Campus Support Center owns and supports more than 3,000 laptop computers used by students, faculty and staff, and all students living on campus receive a laptop capable of accessing high-speed Internet and the University's comprehensive Web-based learning environment.

In addition, the center supports 22 computer labs, 800 desktops, 100 electronic classrooms and -- in conjunction with the Northwest Missouri Education Consortium -- 13 Internet-connected interactive television classrooms located across northwest Missouri.

The Northwest campus also has 4,500 high-speed access ports and 30 wireless access points that connect to a 60 million-bit-per-second feed to the Internet.

Rickman said a key part of the four-year plan is the proposed expansion of Northwest's laptop program to include students living off campus. To accomplish this, the plan recommends issuing campus residents with a new laptop every two years rather then the current three.

The two-year-old laptops would then be distributed to off-campus residents for two more years -- what amounts, Rickman said, to the end of the machine's effective life.

Implementing a two-plus-two student laptop program will cost more money, said Rickman, who is suggesting an increase in the current technology fee from $7 to $10 per credit hour beginning in fall 2008. The increase would be subject to approval by the Board of Regents as part of next year's budget.

A second four-year-plan recommendation calls for refreshing the technology incorporated into the University's electronic classrooms, a measure that would also require additional funding, and that is still under discussion by the Faculty Technology Committee.

Efforts to enhance existing wireless capabilities at Northwest will continue under the plan, with all interior public spaces on campus scheduled to go wireless by the end of the current academic year.

Providing wireless service to classrooms remains problematic, Rickman said, because reliable technology does not yet exist for turning off wireless Internet access in classrooms where its use is not appropriate.

Other plan proposals include Web-based streaming video in support of recruiting and other institutional functions and call for the retention of land lines in residence halls, at least for the time being.

Though land lines are expensive, and though the vast majority of students have cell phones, surveys show both parents and students consider land-based 911 service in residence hall rooms to be highly desirable. Land line 911 calls provide public safety personnel with the caller's exact location without a verbal exchange. Most cell phone networks cannot yet offer this capability.

"Our survey this fall shows that students embrace having land lines with 911 service in each room," Rickman said. "It is an extremely valued service to both students and their parents.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone (660) 562-1704
Fax (660) 562-1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

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