By Brendan O’Reilly
After two consecutive years ranking on The Princeton Review’s annual list of the 25 Most Connected Campuses, this year the University was left disconnected.
The Princeton Review put more emphasis on emerging curricula, specifically computer security, video gaming and robotics when compiling its 2006 list, Ben Zelevansky, director of data collection for The Princeton Review, said. The University was removed from consideration because it does not offer courses in those areas.
Information for the list is collected through standard online surveys sent out by The Princeton Review to university administrators, Zelevansky said.
Last year the University was ranked the 14th most connected campus and two years ago and was tied with seven other schools for 12th. The University was one of four schools that remained on the list both years.
The University is developing courses to include emerging technologies such as robotics, grid computing applications and parallel processing, Laurie Harvey, director of Student Computing Services, said.
Another criterion the Princeton Reviews assesses is wireless connectivity. The University has invested over $200,000 to increase the wireless access on campus, Harvey said.
“There is insufficient wireless coverage on campus,” Alex Fertmann, a sophomore computer science major, said. “Once the entire campus goes wireless, I think we’ll be pretty much set.”
Zelevansky said the Most Connected category changes over the years as technology advances. Something like Wi-Fi access, that was considered cutting-edge a few years ago, has now become commonplace at many colleges and universities.
Colleges also earn points from the Princeton Review if they provide their students with a computer, an option the University is considering.
“There are discussions about instituting a laptop program in specific areas of study,” Harvey said.
Some students, however, disagree with the University providing laptops.
“I don’t think computers should be included in tuition because [many] people have their own computers,” said Sophomore David Bridges. “If you’re just paying for another one what’s the point?”
The University provides open access labs with new computers for students without personal computers.
Every other year, the University replaces the Hammer and Calkins Lab computers so students do not have to work on a machine that is more than two years old, Harvey said. This summer the University will be spending more than $1 million to replace the computers in the academic labs.
The University is a member of The Princeton Review’s Best 361 Colleges. Out of those 361 colleges, the University ranks No. 8 on the list of Students Dissatisfied with Financial Aid, and No. 18 of schools with the least happy students.
