Inside campus libraries and dormitory rooms, thousands of students connect to the Internet not only to study with online systems like Blackboard but also to watch movies and TV shows on Netflix. Computers, smartphones, wireless printers, tablets, iPods, Xboxes, handheld gaming systems, e-readers, smart TVs, Blu-ray players--students now bring an…

Discusses how California State University's $400-million effort to centralize administrative computing has led to controversy not only over the cost, but also over pressure on individual colleges to change policies. (EV)

Describes the increasing trend of incorporating electronic commerce methods to purchasing systems at colleges and universities. Provides examples from the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University (Massachusetts), California State University at Fullerton, and the University of California at Los Angeles. (DB)

Explains how for Michael M. Crow, executive vice provost at Columbia University, knowledge is a form of venture capital. This means pushing Columbia beyond the usual role of creating knowledge and disseminating it in traditional manners, and instead taking the knowledge, incubating it, and projecting it using tools like the Internet. (SM)

College administrators across the US are learning that chatter on e-mail, blogs, and social-networking sites can turn even minor faux pas into major controversies. The issue is discussed with reference to the firing of a teaching assistant whose Web site lampooned the president of Columbia College Chicago and left the institution facing serious…

Desktop publishing techniques are bringing control over institutional newsletters, catalogues, brochures, and many other print materials directly to the author's office. The technology also has the potential for integrating campus information systems and saving much time and money. (MSE)

Striving to streamline student services and improve electronic communication, colleges and universities are signing on with companies that offer sophisticated World Wide Web sites through which students can accomplish basic administrative functions and receive information. The sites are often free of charge but also feature advertising messages…

Increasingly, universities are using teleconferencing and computer meeting systems for a variety of administrative and instructional purposes, including more efficient and effective meetings, hiring, business administration education, and writing compositions. Many U.S. and foreign institutions are using the GroupSystems technology developed at…

Increasingly, students enrolled in regular college classes are taking online courses for convenience. Offering students these options raises administrative issues, including how to balance faculty teaching loads and pay for both forms of instruction. Critics say students choosing online courses are not getting the education they pay for, and…

College administrators in computing and institutional planning contend that using computers and other technology for instruction, communication, and distance education is becoming crucial for coping with demands for better undergraduate teaching, reductions in state support, pressures to hold down private college tuition, and growth in…

Uses of computer technology by two- and four-year colleges to enhance instruction, curriculum planning, research, and college and program administration in a wide variety of disciplines are described. The descriptions focus on innovative uses of both hardware and software. (MSE)