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)

Clarkson University provides each student with a Zenith microcomputer, the cost covered by tuition, eliminating many problems of computer availability and opening doors in the curriculum that were previously closed. (MSE)

In California, home of many computer companies, community colleges are having difficulty acquiring computers and training faculty to use them. Observers are concerned that high-technology jobs, vital to the state's economy, may have to be filled from out of state. However, level of technology varies widely by institution, and a few offer…

A number of universities now require all students to have computers, charging additional tuition to cover costs of hardware, networking, and technical support. Despite frustrations of extensive computer systems and technological change, most feel the programs are worthwhile and address the limitations of campus computer labs. Laptops have become…

As Abilene and other research networks designed to substantially enhance research capabilities join the Internet, network managers are concerned about unforeseen problems with the untested systems and their complex connections. (MSE)

College administrators are complaining that "Yahoo! Internet Life" magazine used a flawed surveying process and inaccurate data to select the institutions it named in a recent ranking of "American's 100 Most Wired Colleges." Even some institutions faring well in the ranking have concerns about the survey, citing problems with…

A recent study rated colleges and universities on computer connectedness, using such criteria as faculty use of the Internet for academic purposes (online homework, course home pages, online academic materials); required courses in Internet use; computers, wires, and network connections for students and faculty; non-academic Internet services…

The seventh annual campus computing survey found the adoption rate of high-technology tools for college instruction has slowed. Although technology centers serving faculty are common, most institutions have few formal rewards for faculty use of technology. Data are presented on trends in proportions of courses using technology for various purposes…