Information Technology

In keeping with Albion's reputation as "the most wired liberal arts college in Michigan," a wide range of technology resources and support is available.

Powering Albion College's high-speed network is a fiber optic Gigabit Ethernet backbone that extends to every residence hall room, public lab, faculty office and classroom. In addition, the College has a wireless network with significant campus coverage. These networks are connected to the Internet via a fractional T3 line. Windows-based computers are the campus standard, although other workstations are used for specific applications. All students, faculty and staff members are automatically provided network accounts that allow them access to e-mail, file and World Wide Web page storage.

Public computer facilities are available in Olin Hall (15 workstations), Robinson Hall (26 workstations) and Stockwell-Mudd Libraries (33 workstations) and an advanced technology computer lab in the Ferguson Student, Technology, and Administrative Services Building that is equipped with digital imaging, digital video and wireless capabilities. Specialized computing facilities dedicated to each residence hall and to particular departments are located throughout the campus, and 13 technology-enhanced classrooms are available. Portable media systems supporting classroom instruction are available throughout the campus.

The Instructional Technology department provides support for faculty, staff and students in their use of technology to enhance teaching, learning and research. The department supports a media development lab for those requiring assistance with digital imaging and digital video editing projects, and loaner equipment such as laptop computers, projectors and digital cameras. Through its satellite downlink facilities, Instructional Technology provides multilingual and special-interest programming to the campus via cable TV, which is available in each suite of rooms in the residence halls. Online training is available throughout the year to introduce the computer and network systems, Microsoft Office applications, e-mail, graphics, Web use, and to provide advanced information on specific topics. Training is also offered in support of the Digital Portfolio project for first-year students.

Central administrative computing systems include a Windows 2000 server running the Oracle 9i database system. The College's administrative software, SCT Corporation's Banner version 6, also resides on this computer. Most of the College's business applications are run in the Banner system, including registration and student records, finance, financial aid, human resources and institutional advancement. In addition, several Windows 2000 servers provide Web interfaces to the Banner and e-mail systems for students, faculty and staff.

The Division of Information Technology is committed to providing appropriate technology resources and support to meet faculty, staff and student needs. Detailed information on the division's services is available at www.albion.edu/it.

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