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The
Wake Forest Technology Initiative
Wake Forest University's technology initiative has its roots in a comprehensive plan called The Plan for the Class of 2000. The Plan, launched in 1996, intensified the University's commitment to individual instruction, faculty-student interaction, and small classes. The Plan also sought to make Wake Forest a leader in enhancing the higher education experience through technology.
See the major milestones of the Wake Forest technology initiative. |
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The History of the Wake Forest ThinkPad Project
In the fall of 1996, Wake Forest became only the second university in the country to provide laptop computers to students upon enrollment. That milestone event, what would become known as the ThinkPad Project, helped position Wake Forest as one of the top liberal arts universities in the nation and established the University as a leader in the use of academic technology for the next decade to come.
The University had high expectations for the technology component of the Plan. Just one year before the first rollout, in 1995, the University invited students to participate in a ThinkPad computer pilot program. What was designed to be a relatively small test group grew to nearly 600 students by fall of 1995. Students opted into the program and purchased the computers outright. Many eager parents delivered payment in person to ensure their child was included.
As students in the pilot group were reveling in their new laptop computer and sharing feedback with our staff, the University was busy preparing the logistics of the program and the details of our agreement with IBM. A tuition increase approved by the Board of Trustees for the incoming class of 2000 covered the entirety of the Plan’s vision, including the ThinkPad. Despite some concerns from upperclassmen who protested the tuition increase, the 1995 pilot program was an overwhelming success and set the stage for the University’s full rollout to all incoming students the following year.
In May 1995 Wake Forest University and IBM signed the historic ten-year agreement that would provide ThinkPad computers to students and faculty on the University’s Reynolda Campus. It was IBM’s first ten-year contract with any institution or corporation.
In preparation for ubiquitous computing, the University hired additional staff members in the Information Systems department, and student technology programs such as Resident Technology Advisors (RTAs) and Student Technology Advisors (STARS) were created to assist students and faculty with using the new computers. Individual academic departments hired Academic Computing Specialists who worked closely with Information Systems to help faculty utilize the ThinkPads in the classroom. A faculty committee was formed to ensure the technology plan complemented the University’s academics and the met the faculty’s needs. All decisions related to the ThinkPad, the load, and the Plan, were approved by this committee.
It was determined early on in the process that providing standard hardware and software was critical to obtaining universal adoption across campus. One model ThinkPad used by students and faculty created synergy on campus and allowed a high level of technical support for the equipment from our Information Systems department staff. Warranty service, repairs, and software support were provided by the University from the beginning.
The standard software load for the ThinkPad was designed by our staff in collaboration with IBM technicians. The University’s first ThinkPad model, a 365XD, offered about as much storage capability as today’s modern mobile phone. By contrast, the 2006 model Wake Forest ThinkPad, the T60, provides 100 times the storage.
Upon the faculty committee’s recommendation, the Plan included the provision that rising juniors would exchange the computer they received as freshmen for a new model that they would keep after graduation. The fall of 1998 marked the first junior exchange, and it was not until 1999 that all Wake Forest undergraduate students were using ThinkPad computers. In 1997 individual printers were included in the technology package. In celebration of the Class of 2000’s graduation, the first class to complete all four years at Wake Forest using the ThinkPad, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers delivered the University’s 2000 commencement address.
With ubiquitous campus computing and more sophisticated technology services came the need for a larger and more capable facility for the University’s Information Systems department. In May of 1997 construction began on the new Information Systems Building that would by 2006 house more than 100 professional staff members in support of campus technology. A Research & Development group in the Information Systems department, a rarity on a college campus, is dedicated to developing applications that will use the ThinkPads and other campus technology to the benefit of our students, faculty and staff.
The technology component of the Plan for the Class 2000 propelled an aggressive technology vision and direction for the University. The ThinkPad Project was the first step in technology mobility on campus. In 2004, Wake Forest implemented a high-speed wireless network in all campus buildings. In 2005, the University began the first phase of MobileU™, one of the nation’s first pilot programs to test the efficacy of Pocket PC phones on a college campus. Using the ThinkPad as the base equipment, the University continues to explore the next wave in mobile computing.
Since 1996, the University’s achievements in the area of academic technology have been consistently recognized by industry organizations and media outlets such as Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine, Educause, and The Princeton Review. In 2006, ten years after the launch of the ThinkPad Project, CIO Magazine included Wake Forest on its prestigious CIO 100 list.
The goal of the technology initiative at Wake Forest is to enhance the educational experience by creating an environment where all students have access to the technology resources that will enhance their learning experience and equip them for their future careers. Using the technology resources available at Wake Forest students can communicate more frequently and efficiently with professors and classmates, engage more fully in class activities, and access worldwide databases with ease, allowing them to acquire competence in technologies that are shaping every profession and vocation. |