Yippee! Yahoo! Internet Life Ranks Oberlin Fifth-Most-Wired College in U.S.

by Linda Grashoff

The magazine Yahoo! Internet Life published its fourth annual ranking of colleges and universities according to their Internet resources in April. In the article "America's Most Wired Colleges," Oberlin stands fifth in the line of 100 colleges and baccalaureate schools. (One hundred universities and research schools receive their rankings separately.) "I'm pleased with our ranking," said John Bucher, director of Oberlin's Center for Information Technology. "It represents a tangible measure of some of the things we are doing." Among those "things," Bucher cites:

• 24-hour access to resources for class and social activities l the high rate of student ownership of computers
• 24-hour online consulting daily
• the ability for anyone on campus to place online classified ads
• an interactive guide to the area
• online syllabi for 65 percent of courses
• the availability of "smart" classrooms
• a student-run computer-recycling program
• an ongoing relationship with AT&T Labs to research audio transport on the Internet.

Though Bucher is pleased, he is realistic. "The rankings are controversial, and I don't think we should put a lot of stock in them. Next year's spin may be very different."