An administrator at Amherst College has put together a list of numbers that demonstrates how the role of technology is changing at Amherst, and perhaps at other colleges. Peter Schilling, director of information technology, models his list after the index in Harper’s magazine, which comments on politics and culture.
Mr. Schilling has published the index for the second year in a row. Some of his findings from this year:
Between the 2005 fiscal year and the 2009 fiscal year, the decrease in the total number of outgoing phone calls placed by college employees: 117,823 calls, or 25 percent.
In the same period, the decrease in the total number of incoming calls: less than 2 percent.
Percentage change in employee calls to the IT help desk in the last five years: 60 percent increase.
Subscribers to the Amherst College YouTube channel: 86 (September 2009).
And from last year:
Number of students in the Class of 2012 who brought desktop computers to campus: 14.
Average number of e-mail messages received on campus per day: 180,000.
Percentage of total e-mail that arrives as spam: 94 percent.
Of the four classes currently on campus, the Classes of 2009 and 2010 are more likely to own PC’s, while the Classes of 2011 and 2012 are more likely to own Macs.
