The Channel Wire

October 14, 2008

A new academic year restarts a perennial conversation: How well are colleges and universities in the U.S. integrating technology to meet the expectations of 21st century, tech-savvy students? You'll find as many different answers as informational sources, but a new study by CDW Government Inc.—a CDW Corp. subsidiary—purports to have at least a few good ideas.

CDW-G on Tuesday released "The 21st Century Campus: Are We There Yet?"— survey data culled from responses from more than 1,000 college students, faculty and higher-education IT staff members. Here are some of the takeaways:

Regardless of major, students say campus technology is a key factor in school selection.

Only 33 percent of faculty say technology is fully integrated in their classrooms.

More than 80 percent of faculty teach more than one class in a "smart classroom," but 42 percent of those faculty use the technology in every class.

Nearly all schools provide wireless networks, 87 percent offer course management systems and 75 percent offer distance-learning opportunities.

About 85 percent of schools provide faculty with technology training and most faculty are satisfied with that training (44 percent of faculty surveyed said their biggest challenge is not knowing how to use the technology).

From a wish-list perspective, the top student response to the survey is the ability to chat online with professors, but only 23 percent of higher-education IT staff say their campus offers that chat capability.

Last, according to the study, 77 percent of college students surveyed said they'd be willing to get out of bed early on a Friday morning—for an 8 a.m. class—in exchange for a Nintendo Wii. Not quite sure what that means for the future of IT integration on campuses but it would appear that Mario, not Red Bull, is the new 21st century cure for Thirsty Thursday.