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When Freshman Tali Toledano arrived on campus last fall, she was probably focused on the same things most freshmen concern themselves with: picking a major, joining new clubs, securing a bicycle for the next four years, choosing friends from more than 4,000 new classmates, and locating her classes on the sprawling Davis campus. But equally important, Tali got a computer. "I'm glad I did it. It is the one crucial thing I need in Davis," she says.

This June marks the end of the first full academic year that UC Davis has implemented an ongoing expectation that every entering undergraduate student own a computer. Harry Matthews, Professor of Biochemistry, and chair of the Academic Computing Coordinating Council at the time planning for the expectation began, explains that computer ownership and literacy give students access to the information and communication opportunities that are "essential both to being a responsible and informed citizen and to performing well in a career." Computer ownership also "levels the playing field for all students and allows instructors to choose the best medium for delivering course material, secure in the knowledge that materials supplied or assignments required online are accessible to all our students," Matthews said.

Planning for this first year began in early 1999 when the Academic Computing Coordinating Council, with input from the Academic Senate, developed the statement of expectation for student computer ownership. Adopted by UC Davis in the spring of 2000, the statement announced that beginning in Fall 2001, "every entering undergraduate student will be expected to own a computer that meets certain minimum performance standards and that can connect effectively to the Internet." This statement affirmed what most undergraduate students already knew — that in the new millennium, computer literacy would need to be an essential part of every student's university toolkit. However, by making the statement explicit, UC Davis enabled students needing financial aid to purchase a computer, to obtain it, whereas they could not before.

Since its adoption, the campus has gone to great lengths to publicize the new expectation. And it has been no small task as record pools of more than 25,000 applications are routinely processed each year for a freshman class of between 4,000 and 5,000 students.

Former Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Robert Grey charged Vice Provost for Information and Educational Technology John Bruno with leading the effort to communicate and support the expectation. In consultation with Vice Chancellors Janet Hamilton and Carol Wall, Bruno created a workgroup of professionals from the IET organization, the Office of Administration, the Bookstore, faculty, and Student Affairs. He charged the group with developing campus recommended computer systems, investigating partnerships with computer vendors, and developing a communication plan to notify all incoming undergraduate students and their parents of the expectation. "From the beginning we focused on trying to add value to an incoming student's computer purchase — from developing hardware and software recommendations that we felt would serve the students well for their entire UC Davis academic career, to trying to obtain preferential UC Davis pricing, incoming students were at the forefront of our discussions," said Pat Kava, IET Technology Coordination Manager, and workgroup chair.

According to an informal survey of some of the Fall 2001 students who attended Summer Advising last year, almost 94 percent indicated they were aware of the computer ownership expectation prior to their arrival on campus. And after the first year of the expectation, student computer ownership is becoming increasingly ubiquitous on campus, continuing an upward trend in ownership from the last several years. "In a more technological society, it's really helpful to have your own personal computer," freshman Bianca Rosenthal says. And more and more incoming students are echoing her sentiment. Freshman Tali Toledano purchased a computer when she learned of the campus expectation. "I definitely think it's [the statement of ownership expectation] a good idea. Maybe without it, people wouldn't be as aware of how important it is to have a computer," she added. Had she not purchased a computer, Toledano's educational experience at UC Davis would have involved many inconveniences. "I do homework at three a.m.," she said, "so it's a lot easier to have a computer with me in my room."

"It's a pain to have to use the Library and campus labs," added Julie Jaffarian, another freshman who purchased a computer after hearing about the expectation.

Parents have also appreciated how the recommended configurations help them navigate the computer hardware purchase maze. The hardware and software configurations listed on the Computer Ownership Web site are intended to last through a student's entire academic career. These guidelines are flexible enough that they can be used to purchase a machine from virtually any vendor. "Offering a 'quick and easy' system recommendation has been a great boon to our ability to serve parents," says Beau Patrette, manager of IT Express, the campus computer helpdesk."

As the ownership expectation enters its sophomore year, the recommended hardware and software configurations have been updated to reflect the campus adoption of new technologies and to take advantage of the best market conditions. "In a few years, as this expectation continues to mature, we'll look back and realize what a positive impact it has had on our campus," says Vice Provost Bruno. "The UC Davis campus, our faculty, incoming students, their parents, future employers, and others have much to gain from this expectation. For one thing, its implementation will bring us one step closer to ensuring that our students are well prepared for our faculty's increasing use of educational technology. And as they become more proficient with various computing programs and Internet tools, our students' marketability should also be greatly improved."