According to statistics provided by Information Resources Lab Management, 5,010 students -- almost one-fourth of the entire student population (both undergraduate and graduate) -- used The Station at least once last Fall.

Located in the Memorial Union's former East Conference Room, The Station's 19 Dell PCs and 15 Macintosh G3s were accessed by these students over 68,000 times during Fall 98.

Third-year Spanish and exercise science student Erin McLeod is decidedly upbeat about the new lab: "It is so wonderful to have access to more computers on campus. The location is great, and I can use my time between classes more effectively," she says.

Responding to a survey in which students stated more computer access as a top priority, a coalition of university organizations -- Student Affairs, MU Auxiliary Services, CURB (Campus Unions and Recreation Board), and IT-Information Resources -- put The Station on the fast track, taking the lab from drawing board to ready-to-use facility in less than a year.

Peter Blando, Operations Manager for Information Resources Lab Management, states that extensive cooperation made the project possible: "Preparing a project of this size in such a short time frame was made possible through the excellent communication between the departments, who all realized the importance of a new open-access facility to students."

While the statistics reflect the tremendous popularity of facilities like The Station, they also highlight the growing student need for computer access on campus.

As the faculty becomes increasingly computer savvy, more and more students are being required to use campus computer accounts to access lecture notes, homework assignments, and practice exams. This increase in computer usage can be directly seen in the number of computer lab logons, which jumped nearly 85 percent over the summer, from 215,000 logons in Spring 1998 to 394,000 logons in Fall 1998.

"The significant increase in logons is a very tangible reminder that computers are playing a larger role in today's educational setting," says Peter Blando. "As demand has increased, so has the importance of providing new labs for the students."

Fourth-year communications and political science student Heather Kopeck discussed the current situation: "Before the Station opened, it was a crapshoot over how long it would take for a computer to be available to use. The new lab has helped a lot, but waiting lines are still an everyday thing during the week."

In response to this large upswing, Blando reveals that Information Resources plans to further increase computer access for students by opening another open-access lab, located in 301B Surge IV, in March, and a new computer classroom in 1 Olson by Summer 1999. "The Station and the upcoming computer rooms are part of the larger goal: meeting the computing needs of the students at UC Davis."

Jeff van de Pol is a senior majoring in English. He joined the IT publications team in January 1999.

Resources

Student Computer Access Reports: http://lm.ucdavis.edu/pubs/accessreport/
Computer Room Availability: http://lm.ucdavis.edu/rooms/available/
Student Computing Guide: http://it.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SCG/