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. Every student should have ready access to these essential new technologies, and faculty should be able to count on students having the computing hardware, software and connectivity required for using class materials and other instructional resources on the UC Davis intranet and the World Wide Web. In fact, students who do not have ready access to a computer, whenever they want to study, will soon be at a significant disadvantage.

Rather than require a specific system, the campus is stating its expectation in terms of a minimum set of functional requirements that computers must meet to be used effectively in the student's education at UC Davis. A panel comprised of faculty, students, administrators and staff has concluded that students should have computer that will run a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, an electronic mail program, a World Wide Web browser, and be equipped with a CD-ROM. A printer is also recommended. Equipment feature suggestions for desktop and laptop computers are available at http://it.ucdavis.edu/Solutions/studpurc.html. (Note: This document will be updated during Summer 2000.) Specific majors may stipulate performance expectations greater than the campus minimum standards.

Although UC Davis provides, and will continue to provide, computer rooms and access ports for student use on campus, the University recognizes that it has neither the financial resources nor the space to meet all of this demand with on-campus computer facilities. Moreover, those computer facilities will increasingly be used for class instruction or focused on the more advanced uses associated with courses requiring advanced software or hardware. All students who do not already own an appropriate computer are urged to purchase or upgrade as soon as possible and certainly before Fall 2001. Students who are eligible for need-based financial aid will be able to seek additional financial resources to pay for these systems through the Financial Aid Office.