Computers mandatory?

Trustees consider requiring laptops of incoming students at three CSUs

Portable computers could be added to new students' required- shopping lists at three Northern California universities under a proposal now being considered by the California State University's Chancellor's Office.

The pilot program, which cou ld also have students paying an additional $36 per semester in computer fees, could revolutionize student-teacher interaction and allow more students to tap into various databases, according to CSU officials working with the proposal.

Chancellor B arry Munitz expects the CSU Board of Trustees to consider the program as soon as January, he said in a letter to the presidents of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Humboldt State and Sonoma State, the universities where the proposal was developed and would be tried for three years.

Before it reaches the board, several aspects of the proposal need to be examined, including the program's possible impact on academics and the "politically sensitive" idea of increasing student fees, Munitz said in the Sept. 1 letter.

Assigned by Munitz to help refine the proposal, Richard West, vice chancellor of business and finance, said that although students and teachers would be able to communicate better with an expanded campus computer network, he is uncertain whether that new form of interaction could limit class discussions.

"One of the major issues here is how (would) the curriculum change, if at all," West said. "There's a big debate about whether this (would be) an improvement in quality or an improvement in quantity" of educated students.

There is also a disagreement about how much students ought to pay for the computers and the privilege of plugging into an expanded telecommunications network from on-campus or off-campus.

The cost of a sufficiently powerful portable computer, preferred for its help in taking notes in class, is estimated at $1,000.

The Associated Students of Humboldt State recently voted to oppose the plan because, the organization stated in a news release, the current financial aid system is insufficient to compensate students for the user fee and the cost of purchasing computers.

However, Rand Link, vice president of student affairs at Sonoma State, said that the proposal is only an idea and that alternatives are being explored to help students pay to hook up to their campus' system.

If incoming students - the only students who would be required to have a portable computer under the current proposal - cannot afford to invest in a computer, Lin k said, they might be able to use computer labs instead or just prove they have access to a similar, if not portable, computer.

Campus- and manufacturer-sponsored loans and discounts are also a possibility, Link said.

Cal State Long Beach is not expected to participate in the plan, but expanding the campus' computer network is certainly a long- term goal of the university, said Chuck Schneebeck, director of CSULB's academic computing services. It may someday be necessary for CSULB students to buy their own computers, he said.

"The more the computer becomes a basic tool for learning and a greater tool for managing information, the greater the need for students to own it," Schneebeck said.