Colleges and universities need to stay current with technologies.

Many campuses have adopted laptop programs, where students are expected to purchase or lease a particular model of laptop that will be preloaded with appropriate software and used for the students’ collegiate careers. Likewise, the campuses need to update their infrastructure—such as increasing bandwidth (to handle more video, such as YouTube)—and to provide wireless communication.

The University of Northern Wisconsin is a campus that is trying to remain current with technology. Campus budgets are almost always tight. UNW offers programs from its Superior, Wisconsin, main campus as well as programs on two satellite campuses in Ashland and Rhinelander.

Users on the two satellite campuses frequently do not get the same level of service as students on the main campus.

Internet access is generally slower and not all the software is the same. For example, students at the main campus have access to Bloomberg systems for analysis of financial trading data. The campus opted to build an Internet portal for all students to get to the same software and systems, set up by student ID and student profiles and permissions.

Questions 1. What technologies would be needed to make your campus a premier technology-oriented school?

2. How might a college campus be like a business with multiple locations and software needs?