EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. Membership is open to institutions of higher education, corporations serving the higher education information technology market, and other related associations and organizations.
EDUCAUSE has formulated a Guide to Evaluating Information Technology on Campus. It is designed to help you ask the right questions to match your educational and social needs and financial capabilities with the resources available at the colleges and universities on your "short" list. In a knowledge-driven era, higher education is essential and information technologies, resources, and services will enrich your educational experience.
We duplicate the 4 sections of that guide here with answers:
Social Experience
The social and extracurricular activities on a campus play an important part in making a more complete educational experience, and technology can play an important role in creating and managing these social communities. Therefore, it is important to understand and appreciate the tools that facilitate electronic communities on campus, allowing for greater communication, interaction, and integration within the broad campus milieu.
What percentage of students on this campus has full-time use of personal computers?
100%. We have several 24/7 public labs, containing the latest PC and Mac setups. We also have many public labs dedicated to special functions, such as the music and language labs. There are also public machines in the Libraries.
What is the ratio of public access computers to undergraduate enrollment?
1:5. In addition to public machines, over 85% of students have their own computers.
What percentage of students uses e-mail and other software applications on a regular basis?
100%. Email is the primary method of communication among students on campus, surpassing by far the phone system. All students use some sort of software application on a regular basis (Microsoft Word to write papers, web browsers to get information, various department specific software packages).
Does the campus allow personal Web pages?
Yes. OIT automatically provides all students, faculty, and staff with a place to host their websites. WSO (Williams Students Online) also provides accounts for students to use. These accounts include a second email address and web hosting.
Is contact information for students, faculty, and staff readily accessible electronically?
Yes. The Williams website has an easily searchable directory.
Is there a campus code of behavior for use of computing and information resources?
Yes. Details on our computing policies...
What social activities and services are available over the Web?
There is an all-campus calendar on the main website which lists all the events on campus. Events and activites are announced over the web as well as over email through a service called Daily Messages. WSO hosts the web pages for the student organizations on campus.
Are there Web sites for student organizations and clubs, and are these linked to the campus home page?
Yes. WSO provides space for student organizations and clubs to host their websites. WSO can be reached from the College home page.
