Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Three Massachusetts State Colleges

Require Entering Freshmen to Own Laptops

Marks first phase in state college system

(Worcester, MA – August 30, 2004) All full-time freshmen entering Worcester State College, Bridgewater State College, and Framingham State College this fall will be required to own a notebook computer.  Each of these colleges also has invested in completely wireless networks that will maximize the potential of the laptops by allowing students to access the college network and the Internet from anyplace on campus at anytime of the day.

“We strongly believe that wireless technology is the future and that our students will greatly benefit from this new initiative,” said Worcester State College President Janelle C. Ashley. “It is essential for our students to have technological skills to succeed in today’s high-tech world. Worcester State College is now completely wireless.  Students will be able to use their laptops at virtually every place on our campus.” 

“As the first public higher education system in the nation to implement such an initiative, we are taking a major step forward in preparing our students for the 21^st Century workplace,” said Dana Mohler-Faria, President of Bridgewater State College and of the Council of Presidents of the State Colleges of Massachusetts. 

Fall 2004 marks the first phase in the implementation of the laptop and wireless initiative by the Massachusetts State Colleges.  Salem State College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will join in the fall of 2005, and Westfield State College and Fitchburg State College are scheduled to join in the fall of 2006.

“We know through our online survey that 85 to 95 percent of our students already purchase a personal computer for their college education,” Associate Vice President for Information Technologies Donald Vescio stated.  “For the 10 to 15 percent who can’t, we will have options in place to take care of them. No student will be left behind through this initiative.  It will cost students less in the long-run to own their own laptop and allow the College to maintain a quality educational computing environment.”

The state colleges also have signed a joint purchasing agreement with Dell Computers to supply the laptops to their students. Dell will offer students a deeply discounted price of approximately $1,200 for a laptop with a list price of more than $2,000.  As the laptop is a required cost of attending the three state colleges, students will be able to finance their purchase through financial aid.

“This initiative helps to bridge the ‘digital divide’ by giving all of our students access to the most advanced technology,” stated Frederick Clark, Executive Officer of the Council of Presidents of the State Colleges of Massachusetts.  “It is also a superb example of the kind of collaboration that is taking place among the colleges to enhance the educational experience of our students and to reduce their costs.”

The computers will come with software packages licensed by the colleges fully installed, and each of the colleges will provide complete technical support for students on campus.

“Having access to this kind of advanced technology is a great advantage for our students,” stated Framingham State College President Helen Heineman.  Framingham State was the first of the state colleges to require incoming students to have a laptop and to develop a completely wireless network.  “Our success was instrumental in persuading the state college system to make this investment.”

For faculty members, such as Karen Woods Weierman, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English at Worcester State College, the laptop initiative is an exciting opportunity: “I see the computers not as an end in themselves, but as a powerful tool for teaching and learning across disciplines.”

The nine Massachusetts State Colleges are 4-year, baccalaureate and masters degree-granting institutions.  They include six comprehensive colleges that combine a liberal arts education with professional development training, which are located in Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield, Worcester, and three specialized colleges, including the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay.

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