For the second consecutive year, Western Carolina University has been named one of the 100 “most wired” colleges in the nation by Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine, a national publication and guide to the World Wide Web.
WCU was number 68 last year, but it has now moved up 3 places to number 65. Other North Carolina schools were in the rankings as well: Wake Forest (20), N.C. State (21), University of Carolina-Chapel Hill (56), Duke University (63), Elon (79) and East Carolina (95).
The Assistant Director of Public Information, Bill Students, looks at this accreditation “as another validation from an outside source other than the university that we’re doing some things right. Particularly in computers and tools of high technology.”
WCU was the first UNC school to have in-room computer connections for every student in every residence hall. The requirement of having a computer to attend WCU started in 1998 with the entire freshman class.
Since then, freshman have learned to develop personal homepages on the World Wide Web, use the internet to search for information, and utilize appropriate software programs for English composition, word-processing and oral presentations.
Jaime Williams, a sophomore at WCU feels “very privileged to attend such a college with computers being the way of our future. It is very important towards our education.”
Having 24-hour Internet connections in the dorms has enabled students to stay in their rooms to do a lot of research for class. Being able to email teachers early or past due assignments has been a personal favorite on this campus.
With many colleges, it is enjoyable to be able to communicate on instant messenger with your friends at different schools, family back home, or new people that attract your attention that could be across the country.
In looking towards the future of Internet projects for WCU, Bill Students responded by saying, “we’re looking at ways to improve how we use computers inside and outside of the classroom. For example applying for financial aid.”
This will enable students as well as faculty members to invite the coming age of technology into their homes, workplaces, and dorm rooms.
