Beginning in the fall of 2005, DePauw University instituted a mandatory laptop requirement for all incoming students. That year, all first- and second-year students were required to purchase a laptop computer for use in course and campus activities. In subsequent years, all entering students will be required to purchase a system designated by the University.
This new initiative represents the next step with DePauw's pioneering 361° Initiatives , which were launched in the spring of 2001 to establish DePauw as the preeminent liberal arts college in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning and to prepare students for professional success after graduation. Students, faculty members, and employers have pointed to a laptop program as the next key initiative in transforming liberal arts education to equip students to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the digital age. We know that ninety-five percent of our students already bring computers to campus, with more than seventy percent of the current first year class bringing laptops. We also know that students nationally spend on average $1,800 to $2,400 on computers for their first year and that eighty percent of students bring computers to campus that were purchased as presents during their senior year in high school. Our laptop initiative will allow us to leverage these investments that parents and students are already making to improve the learning experience while reducing technology costs for the average DePauw family. The initiative will also help the University to sustain its technology resources and leadership position in a more cost-effective and sustainable manner.