Is a laptop initiative right for Eastern?

That is one question the Academic Technology Advisory Committee will discuss at today’s meeting.

A subcommittee spent the summer researching the idea of requiring all students to purchase a laptop when they enroll at Eastern in the future.

The initiative is already being used at other universities like Indiana State University and in the School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan, and now ATAC feels it would be a good idea to discuss the idea at Eastern.

“We’re in a technology era,” said Dean Will Hine, chair of the ATAC coordination of technology resources subcommittee researching the topic. “Technology and education is happening and it’s going to accelerate.”

ATAC talked about the idea during its October meeting and now wants to discuss the feedback it has had from the campus.

“The meeting tomorrow is just to hear back from the constituent groups,” Hine said. And from what he’s heard, opinions are mixed so far.

ATAC member Doug Lawhead said there are areas on campus interested in the initiative like graphic design, speech communication disorders and journalism.

But there are also areas of concern with such a project including costs to both the students and the university and the actual need for such an initiative.

Lawhead said some people are concerned that requiring students to buy a laptop to come to Eastern might dissuade them from enrolling because of the added expense.

“There were some people on the Faculty Senate that felt that it contradicted textbook rental,” Lawhead said, because students are attracted to the system that helps them save money.

However, surveys presented at Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting showed that 65 percent of students purchase their own computers when they enroll at Eastern anyway.

But that raised the question that if students are already bringing their own computers, why should the university interfere?

Lawhead’s response to the question is that with an initiative, the departments could help the students obtain computers with the software, hardware and warranties students will need for their college career.

Also, there’s a good chance that if the university makes laptops a requirement, they will be able to make deals with manufacturers that would reduce the price of laptops and software for students.

Another issue to be considered is that the initiative would bring costs to the university because the networks would all have to be changed to accommodate so many laptops.

“There are network infrastructure issues that would have to be addressed that would cost money,” Lawhead said.

It would also change the number of computer labs on campus and the furniture in the classrooms, Lawhead said, because desks would need to be large enough for students to bring their laptops to class.

“Every classroom could conceivably be a computer lab,” he said.

Both Lawhead and Hine emphasized that the current discussion is just a discussion and nothing more.

“We want to make sure people understand that there is no proposal at this time,” Hine said. “When we’re done with this (meeting), ATAC will then decide if there is sufficient support to move ahead and examine the issue further.”

The research gathered by ATAC on the topic can be found on its Web site under the Minutes link at www.eiu.edu/~atac.