LETTERS
 Online Apps Need Help
The article "Getting Personal," (by Frank Tansey) in the March issue of Campus
Technology was an interesting exploration of how computers might be used
to improve recruiting. However, instead of new capabilities, I suggest that
universities work on fixing what they already have.
As my oldest is graduating from high school, I recently approached universities
from the perspective of a parent for the first time. My son applied to three
large, well-known state universities which had the best engineering colleges
in their states. We had serious problems with the online applications of all
three. In all cases, it would have been much quicker, easier, and less stressful
to do paper applications. In the most severe case, it soured me on the university.
While I make no claims to be a computer expert, I am an engineering professor
and teach a graduate course in computer control. If I have such problems, what
must happen in other cases? Universities must provide reliable interfaces to
prospective students, and methods to opt out of computerized applications. Perhaps
you might want to emphasize reliability and flexibility in your magazine's content.
John Schueller,
Professor
University of Florida
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"Instead of new [recruiting technology] capabilities,
schools should work on fixing what they already have."
eTextbooks and More!
Thank you for a wonderful article describing the movement toward ePublishing
at colleges and universities ["Book 'Em," Matt Villano, February 2005]. I agree
that electronic publishing, and eReading in general, will continue to grow in
popularity and become commonplace in years to come.
One question I might ask, though, is why University of Ph'enix
wasn't mentioned in the article. University of Ph'enix has been on the leading
edge of delivering Web-based learning materials for years and has developed
and delivered a rich mixture of study materials to its students via the Internet.
More than just eBooks, the online system provides a wide range of multimedia
content extending the student's access to knowledge about many course topics.
Maybe another article could examine and share with readers what the next evolution
of eLearning will look like, and highlight innovators of electronic content
like University of Ph'enix.
Edward Aldama
IT Manager, Ph'enix Campus
University of Ph'enix
Aiding Promotion and Tenure
I just read [the] article, "Reward and Conquer" [David Starrett, October 2004],
and it was very good. [How can I get] a copy of the property rights policy,
which was discussed at the end of the article?
I am Director of the Fire Science program at our college and have placed all
the courses via the Web. It has been a time-consuming job and very benefical
to the firefighters in Georgia.
Your article covered a great number of areas that interested me [which] have
been discussed at some of our meetings. I plan on passing along the magazine
to others.
Once again, it was a great article.
Thomas Y. Smith
Fire Science Technology Instructor
West Georgia Technical College
The document is at cstl.semo.edu/itfrr
(given in the article). It is a quick-and-dirty review of IP policies of some
institutions of higher ed, and includes URLs for the IP policies at those institutions.
-Dave Starrett