March 19, 2008
At the U. of Virginia, Apple Continues Its Rise
If the University of Virginia is any indication, Apple’s fortunes on campuses continued to rise this year. About one in four freshmen at the university owns an Apple computer, up from one in five the previous year, according to a comprehensive inventory of student technology ownership conducted in the fall.
Just five years ago, only 4 percent of UVa’s freshmen said they owned a Mac.
In the early days of personal computers, Apple machines were the most popular brand on campuses, though computer ownership was relatively rare then. (For more on Apple’s ups and downs in higher education, see our past coverage.)
The university has been tracking student technology ownership since 1997, and officials published this academic year’s data this month.
The latest numbers confirm the demise of the desktop on campus, a trend we reported last year. This year, 99 percent of the students reported owning a laptop rather than a desktop. Only four students who answered the survey said they don’t own a computer at all (or 0.1 percent of the respondents).
Just 7 percent of freshmen reported owning a video-game system, suggesting that many students are too busy on Facebook and other software programs to play Wii or other popular amusements.
Does your campus publish computer-ownership figures? If so, share your links in comments. —Jeffrey R. Young
Posted on Wednesday March 19, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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That finding reinforces what we discovered in two small surveys of students at Miami University and University of Dayton in a study of electronic textbooks. (Although, in the case of the University of Dayton, it was part of a laptop initiative for undergraduates.)
— Peter Murray Mar 20, 09:14 AM #
Mac use by students at James Madison University doubled between 2006 and 2007 (7% vs. 14%, respectively). That info is from page 6 of the school’s technology survey found here.
Go Dukes!
— Ross Richardson Mar 20, 09:47 AM #
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the 2007 figures show that 20% of students are now using Mac OS X, about double from 2005. Apple sales to students, faculty, staff, and departmental/institutional customers continue to grow.
Dave Schroeder
das@doit.wisc.edu
http://das.doit.wisc.edu
— Dave Schroeder Mar 20, 12:41 PM #
At New York Medical College we have been watching the same trend. We poll all incoming 1st year students about this exact question. This year, approx. 1/3 of students had a Macintosh—mostly laptops. This is approx. double from the previous year.
— Martin J. Glassman Mar 24, 05:24 PM #
I’ve started to compile a list of Mac usage at universities,
here. All data much appreciated
Chris
— chris Apr 17, 02:47 AM #