Wake Forest ranks among America’s ‘Most Wired’ schools

The ranking is reported in the magazine’s fourth annual feature on America’s “most wired” schools, published in its May edition.

Yahoo! Internet Life reports it examined data submitted from nearly 1,300 schools from all 50 states. The institutions “contributed data about their network systems, Internet research projects, and student Web services, as well as their plans for incorporating technology into all aspects of campus life,” the magazine adds.

An article accompanying the rankings quotes Wake Forest University President Thomas K. Hearn Jr., as saying, “The Internet has enriched the way students and faculty do everything at school.”

Wake Forest has been ranked among the country’s “most wired” schools in the Yahoo! Internet Life survey since it began in 1997. Along the way, the magazine has made numerous changes in its approach to ranking “wired” colleges and universities.

This year, for instance, the magazine expanded the pool of schools participating in the survey. As a result, “our participation rate more than tripled, making this year’s survey our largest and most ambitious yet,” the magazine declares.

Schools were also divided into four different lists. Previously, all schools-no matter their size or mission-were placed in only one group. The magazine includes two groups in its May edition: “Universities and Research Schools” and “Colleges and Baccalaureate Schools.” Wake Forest is listed in the first group. Two other groups will be posted online April 18 at www.wiredcolleges.com, according to Yahoo! Internet Life.

Wake Forest launched a comprehensive technology initiative in fall 1996, as part of a larger plan to enhance undergraduate education. In part, the initiative called for providing IBM laptop computers to all Wake Forest undergraduates. The university also wired all classrooms and residence halls, as well as many public areas, to provide students, faculty and staff with fast and easy access to the Internet. In addition, the university has established a system for online applications, developed online registration, and made course schedules available online.

The first class to benefit fully from the Wake Forest Undergraduate Plan, the Class of 2000, will graduate in May.