ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602120044
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
Some students at the University of Virginia will have to add the price of a personal computer to the cost of their educations.
UVa's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration will require students to purchase computers beginning this fall. The undergraduate McIntire School of Commerce is considering a similar pilot program to test the idea, the board of visitors was told Friday.
``Personally, I think the most compelling reason is educational value,'' Polley McClure, UVa's vice president for technology, said after a presentation to the board.
With 17,000 students and only 800 computers in labs throughout the university, McClure told the board that space never seems to meet the increasing computer demand.
Of undergraduates, 61 percent own computers, and the number is increasing, she said.
McClure said requiring computers would let the university standardize the computers and software that students purchase. It also would mean the university would not have to continually buy new and improved computers for labs.
She had no figures about potential savings for UVa by requiring students to buy their own computers - or cost increases for undergraduates.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 35 linesby CNB