Friday, October 30, 1998

Two of Georgia's Smallest Colleges Offer Laptops for Every Student By JEFFREY R. YOUNG MORROW, GA. Two of Georgia's smallest public colleges are among the latest institutions to provide laptop computers for every student. But unlike many of the richer and better-known institutions that have taken similar approaches, the two colleges sought out unusual deals to help pay for their joint technology plan, forming partnerships with a computer manufacturer, a network company, a telephone company, an Internet-service provider, two banks, and several software vendors. "I got to the point where I thought I was a carney barker," says Richard A. Skinner, president of Clayton College and State University, describing his attempts to sell businesses on the plan. "I would go to meetings, and businesses would give me these blank looks." The plan Mr. Skinner pitched, which took effect last year, created an auxiliary accounting structure to deliver technology to students, professors, and administrators. The college charges students a fee in exchange for the use of a laptop computer, unlimited Internet access, and a student identity card that can serve as a bank card, phone card, and credit card. Floyd College, a two-year college located about 70 miles away, created a similar system that coordinates purchases with Clayton College and offers similar services. Students are required to pay a technology fee of $300 per semester to attend the colleges, even if they take only one course. Mr. Skinner says he told companies that he wasn't asking for charity: "This is not philanthropy. We're not asking you to do this because it's noble and right and true. We're asking you to do this because it's a good business proposition." He hopes the technology account will become self-supporting by 2000. The plan allows the colleges to offer a level of technology that they could not have provided otherwise, says Mr. Skinner. He says the technologies, and even the deals with businesses, fit his institution's goals. "The mission of this college says we will prepare students to succeed in the workplace of the 21st century." And the technology is improving instruction, officials of the two colleges say. "It has dynamically changed the way that we teach and the way that students learn," says H. Lynn Cundiff, president of Floyd College. The two presidents say they didn't know each other before teaming up on the technology plan. Each went separately to the University System of Georgia's chancellor suggesting that his college require laptop computers. According to Mr. Skinner and Mr. Cundiff, the chancellor told each that he was crazy, but that he could proceed under two conditions: The two presidents had to work together, and they had to present the idea to every member of the Board of Regents. On a recent Thursday at Clayton's campus here in suburban Atlanta, students in some classrooms took notes on their computers during classes. In a classroom equipped with Internet connections, a group of students sat around a wired laptop working on a project. In the cafeteria, other students finished class assignments on the laptops while eating Chick-fil-A sandwiches from the small food court. But the plan comes at a price: the mandatory fee for students, an increased presence of corporate logos on the campuses, and a reliance on businesses to keep the college's network up and running. "There is no doubt that when you forge these relationships, a measure of your autonomy -- a measure of your freedom to maneuver -- goes away," says Mr. Skinner. College and government officials across the country have been watching the project closely. The state's university system designated the project as a pilot that other colleges in the system may one day follow. The two colleges held a conference about the project in March. A growing number of colleges around the country -- both public and private -- require students to own or lease computers. Officials at Clayton and Floyd Colleges say, however, that they are the first non-residential colleges to require computers. Their plan is structured to operate without regular financing from the state and to keep the student fee as low as possible, officials say. Because their students become their partners' customers, the colleges get commissions or finder's fees from some of the businesses, based on the number of students who participate in optional banking and telephone plans. And the colleges receive discounts on equipment and software by selecting standard machines and applications and buying in bulk -- the colleges bought 8,500 computers when the program began last year. The two college presidents who helped design the plan say their primary concern about the project was the cost to students. Because the technology fee is required, it is covered by financial aid. But even so, the fee is a burden for some students. "I suspect we have lost some part-time students," notes Mr. Skinner, of Clayton. Mr. Cundiff, of Floyd, says the fee is an even greater concern for his college, which is a two-year institution. "Most of us at the two-year level are seen as bargains in education," he says. The fee drives the college's price tag closer to that of a four-year institution, he adds, and that could mean some students choose a four-year institution over Floyd. But technology also brings a stronger sense of community to non-residential colleges, the presidents report. "I have students who come from very long distances on a daily basis -- 60 to 70 miles away," says Mr. Skinner. Through the computer system, students and professors can send e-mail to one another day or night, without having to come to the campuses. The colleges are also taking advantage of their new infrastructure to offer distance-education courses over the Internet. The plan seems to have been implemented without major protests from students or professors, although some were skeptical. "We were pretty mad" about the fee at the outset, says Kelli Croft, a student at Clayton who already owned a computer and didn't want to be forced to spend money on another one. But "now that I'm using [the technology] more, it's been better to pay the money." In fact, some students see the fee as a bargain. "It's a pretty cheap computer," says Jonathan Suddeth, a freshman at Clayton. "I couldn't get a computer leased to me for $300." Gene Hatfield, a professor of history, says faculty reaction was "much as to be expected." "There was hesitance, concern, a sense that new skills would have to be learned," he says. Putting the technology in place gave officials plenty of headaches as well. The most challenging logistical issue continues to be training, the colleges' presidents say. "We're still in the business of having to explain some very basic stuff to students," says Mr. Skinner, of Clayton. "If I could redo anything, I would have provided far more support" as the program began, he adds. Mr. Cundiff says support is even more difficult for a two-year institution, because of faster student turnover. "We constantly have to train more than our four-year sister institutions," he says. Signs of the corporate partnerships are clear on the colleges' redesigned World-Wide Web pages. Floyd College's home page now includes logos for many of the companies in the program -- Arsys Innotech Corporation, a computer maker; AT&T; First Union, a bank; EarthLink, an Internet-service provider; and Microsoft Corporation. There's even a banner advertisement for Blimpie, a sub shop. Corporate logos appear on Clayton's Web pages as well, but not as prominently. Mr. Skinner says he doesn't mind if people compare his efforts to those of a mega-retailer like Wal-Mart -- "Wal-Mart does not sell shoddy goods," he says. "The success of Wal-Mart is selling well-known and high-quality goods in a convenient way." "People," he says, "want more and more value for their education dollar."