Yahoo! Internet Life Says Baylor Is 'Wired'
At No. 22, Baylor is the Big 12's lone representative in the Top 25. And don't expect to see Nebraska or Michigan at No. 1; that position belongs to Dartmouth.
It's not the Associated Press Top 25 college football rankings. It's Yahoo! Internet Life's rankings of "America's 100 Most Wired Colleges," found in the magazine's May 1998 issue.
A computer-age magazine covering all things Internet, Yahoo! Internet Life surveyed hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation to identify those institutions that offer the best access and exposure to the latest trends in information technology to their students. Baylor's ranking is the highest in Texas and the Big 12 Conference.
"Today, technology, the Web and the Internet are essential to almost every aspect of academic life," said Dr. Don Hardcastle, director of Baylor's Information Technology Center. Baylor has woven new technologies into everything from the application process through the educational experience to alumni relations.
"More and more faculty are using the Web for their course materials," he said. "Technology has become an integral part of our student life experience at Baylor."
Behind Dartmouth, the New Jersey Institute of Technology was ranked second, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was ranked third. Other Texas schools included in the Top 100 list were Texas A&M University (38), Rice University (74), Southern Methodist University (83) and the University of North Texas (92).
The rankings are based on 22 measures of information technology on campus, divided into general, academics, social life and computer statistics categories. Survey questions measured the availability of services such as online registration, online course materials, an online student newspaper, and public computers on campus.
Other survey questions covered residence hall computer wiring, student dial-in access, and student accessibility, areas which Baylor has made a priority over the past three years. The magazine also noted the prevalence of computer kiosks on campus, which students can use to check their e-mail accounts regularly.