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For the third year in a row, Indiana University Bloomington is ranked second among the nation's public universities in Yahoo! Internet Life magazine's survey of America's "most wired" universities. This year IU is ranked ninth overall.
Now in its third year, the Yahoo! survey annually invites some 600 colleges to respond to a broad range of questions about the use of information technology on their campuses. Each year, the questions focus on certain aspects of "wired life." In 1999, they covered the categories of computer availability and description; undergraduate personal computer use; E-mail use and access; Web space use and access; networking; degree and distance learning; and educational and administrative uses.
| IUB achieved especially high marks.Of the institutions ranked in the top ten overall, IU ranked second (along with Rensselaer Polytechnic and Wake Forest) in offering its students up-to-date computer equipment in its Student Technology Centers (STCs). |
Yahoo! tailors its survey questions and criteria to mirror the nation's highly dynamic technological landscape. Survey staff note that given the rapidly changing nature of wired life, these rankings capture a "moving target." In this year's survey, for example, the network occupied the attention of surveyors and respondents alike. Next year's focus is anybody's guess, and rankings might shift considerably.
In certain areas of the survey, IUB achieved especially high marks. Of the institutions ranked in the top ten overall, IU ranked second (along with Rensselaer Polytechnic and Wake Forest) in offering its students up-to date computer equipment in its Student Technology Centers (STCs). IU's policy of replacing all STC computer equipment every three years means that currently 70 percent of all STC equipment is less than two years old. All IU residence hall rooms are equipped with dedicated network ports, and 75 percent of IU students have registered for those connections.
In the amount of information technology support offered, IU ranked third in the nation after Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington State University. The Yahoo! survey made special note of IU's acclaimed Knowledge Base.
"Since the inception of the Yahoo! survey, IU has consistently been ranked among the very top of the nation's public universities," said IU President Myles Brand. "This recognition is a matter of great pride for the university. But more importantly, it sends a message to IU students that their technology environment is among the best in the nation."
The consistently top rankings assure that the university's technology landscape is remaining at the forefront, said Michael McRobbie, vice president for information technology and chief information officer at IU. "The continuing changes we are making to IU's information technology environment are keeping us at the very top of the academic institutions in the nation," McRobbie said. "IU students can count on the fact that the technology preparation they receive provides them the best academic advantages. When students graduate from IU, they will be among the nation's most technologically savvy graduates, prepared to compete in an increasingly technological world."
For the survey results, see:
http://www.zdnet.com/yil/url/9905/9905a.html
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