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News Update:
An Online Newsletter from Campus Technology

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Brandeis and VoIP: A New Approach to Telecommunications on Campus
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=10594

Gateway: A Lesson in Teamwork
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=10621

Share your expertise: Speak at Syllabus2005
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=9601

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News for Tuesday, November 2, 2004

* College Students Prefer Electronic Voting by a Wide Margin
* U. California Berkeley ID Hack Called ‘Worst of its Kind’
* Caveat Emptor: Low Grad Rate Masks Higher Total Tuition
* New Product: Turnkey Virtual University Appliance
* Noteworthy Deals: Howard Picks Siemens Security Platform

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Brandeis and VoIP: A New Approach to Telecommunications on Campus

A growing number of campuses are taking a hard look at VoIP as a
viable communication technology for students, faculty, and staff.
A new article on a Campus Technology micro site sponsored by SBC
tells how the university implemented a total conversion from a
traditional PBX system to VoIP. Read “A Quick Switch to VoIP at
Brandeis University,” and learn about the planning process, the
ROI, and the network’s myriad features. For this, as well as other
articles, case studies, white papers, and more, go to
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=10594.

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College Students Prefer Electronic Voting by a 2-1 Margin

A poll by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on voting method preferences
found that a majority (62 percent) of younger Americans between the agencies
18 to 34 prefer to vote electronically versus using a manual balloting
system. Younger voters also believe by wide margins that electronic voting
machines are easy to use, and make it faster to vote compared to manual
methods. The percentages are almost exactly reversed for Americans over
the age of 65.

Pollsters surmised that the use of electronic voting machines could lead to
a higher turnout among 18- to 34-year-old voters on election day, since 54
percent told WPI that it is "more likely that I will go out and vote" if
they could vote electronically rather than manually. “I think the younger
generations have more confidence in electronic, not paper voting," said
Mark Penn, president of Penn, Sch'en and Berland Associates, Inc., which
conducted the poll for WPI. "They grew up with the PC, not the punch card,
and want to vote that way."

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Gateway: A Lesson in Teamwork

Learn how Creighton University streamlined their technology
environment and reduced service and support costs in this exclusive
white paper by Gateway. A Lesson in Teamwork gives you a comprehensive
blueprint for creating a reliable and cost-efficient high speed network
on your campus. Visit the Campus Technology Resource page to download
this important white paper and see how Gateway can help you to make an
anytime, anywhere learning environment a reality at your institution.

http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=10621

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U. California Berkeley ID Hack Called ‘Worst of its Kind’

A computer hacker accessed the names and Social Security numbers of about
1.4 million Californians after breaking into a University of California,
Berkeley, computer system in the worst attack of its kind ever experienced
by the school, the Reuters News Agency reported. The names accessed by the
hacker were being used by a UC Berkeley researcher who collected data on
elderly people to study the impact of wages on in-home care.

The data, which included home addresses, telephone numbers and dates of
birth, was being used at the state's authorization but without the consent
of the individuals whose information was being used in the study. The state
is authorized to share with researchers the personal information of people
who participate in state programs administered by the state social services
department.

Berklee College of Music Names First Online Music Scholars

Berkleemusic.com, the online extension of the Berklee College of Music,
chose five recipients its first online music scholarship program. The
winners, from Pakistan, South Africa, and 3 U.S. cities, were awarded six
online music courses and up to two years of study at Berkleemusic.com.
Recipients can also enroll in Berkleemusic's accredited college credit
certificate programs, and earn college credit that can be transferred to
their local college or university.

The scholarship recipients were:

-- Arooj Aftab, born in Pakistan, is a self-taught female guitarist who was
raised in a culture where opportunities for music study, especially for
women, are limited.

-- Brett Richard Keintz, a Fulbright scholar who has created a blueprint for
a music company dedicated to addressing music.

-- Timothy Peter Kroon, a South African, is a singer who has mastered guitar,
bass, piano, violin, and drums. He plans to focus his scholarship on courses
that will sharpen his music engineering skills.

-- Monica Orth, a Lowell, Mass., resident who wants to write and produce
cutting edge electronic dance music.

Jose Luis Revelo; a native of Columbia, creates jingles and scores for some
of the top music production houses in New York City.

Caveat Emptor: Low Grad Rate Masks Higher Total Tuition

GraduationWatch.org, a Web site that reports on graduation rates and tuition
costs at nearly every 4-year undergraduate institution in the U.S., found
that only 37 percent of all college freshman graduate in four years or less.
The organization said the statistic is important as a low graduate rate for
a particular institution can lead to higher-than-expected overall college
tuition costs for the college-bound.

"In general, colleges and universities have not made it easy for applicants
to find their 4-year graduation rates, said Toby Waldorf, a college
counselor and founder of GraduationWatch.org. ‘But it is essential that
students take this important statistic into account when selecting a college
to attend. If a school's 4-year graduation rate is low, it's often an
indication that many students are not a good match for that school or that
the institution is not appropriately monitoring progress toward graduation.”

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Share your expertise: Speak at Syllabus2005

Plan to speak at Syllabus2005, July 24-28 in Los Angeles. Call
for Papers is now open and we are accepting proposals until
November 30 in six content areas applicable to higher education
technology.

For complete details go to http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=9601.

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New Product: Turnkey Virtual University Appliance

Digital Learning Management Corp. released its Virtual University Appliance
(VU), an all-in-one hardware and software solution for creating e-learning
portals. The system allows institutions to create a virtual e-learning
presence from scratch. The standard 1U rack mounted device can be placed in
the client's location behind their firewall or at Digital's facility. The
tool is targeted to school that desire lower implementation costs and
reduced implementation time in setting up an e-learning environment.

Noteworthy Deals: Howard Picks Siemens Security Platform

Howard University picked Siemens to provide an integrated package of security
management solutions that includes identity and access management systems,
as well as physical control and monitoring technologies. The integrated
security application will link physical and IT access controls on campus.
Siemens is also providing the converged IT/security system with a service
package that includes 24/7 maintenance of hardware and software systems and
system operator training and support.

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