An iPhone to go with your degree
Elisa Essner
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: City/State
How would you like a new iPhone with your college acceptance letter?
"Well, I definitely wouldn't say no," said CAS freshman Jenna Miller.
Some college students will be enjoying that perk as part of Apple's new "iPhone University" initiative, which aims to provide Apple products, especially iPhones and iPods, to all college students.
So far, two universities - Abilene Christian and Oklahoma Christian - have signed up to participate in this program, but pilot programs at Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale have been underway for six months.
At ACU, incoming freshmen will receive either an iPhone or iPod Touch to organize their academic and personal lives. The Texas university has already developed more than 15 web applications to accompany the new technology, including homework alerts, in-class participation programs, on-campus maps and payment tracking services, according to a statement from ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
But these gadgets don't come for free; students will be responsible for paying usage fees associated with the iPhone.
OCU announced its decision to participate in a similar program last week. Previously, OCU provided its students and faculty with PCs. New freshmen will now receive MacBooks and a choice between an iPhone or iPod Touch. Older students will have the option to upgrade to the MacBooks, paying a modest one-time upgrade fee, said OCU Chief Technology Officer John Hermes.
The cost of the new initiative at OCU is covered by a technology fee built into students' tuition, Hermes explained.
CAS sophomore Molly Hubert said the program's aim is a good one.
"Our universities should be teaching us to use new technology in our daily lives," she said. "We pay enough money to go here, we should all have access to the best technology."
According to Marilyn McMillan, NYU's chief information technology officer, the NYU School of Medicine is already piloting a related program called iTunes U to distribute instructional modules, but the university is considering collaborating with Apple to help further incorporate technology to all academic life.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't say no," said CAS freshman Jenna Miller.
Some college students will be enjoying that perk as part of Apple's new "iPhone University" initiative, which aims to provide Apple products, especially iPhones and iPods, to all college students.
So far, two universities - Abilene Christian and Oklahoma Christian - have signed up to participate in this program, but pilot programs at Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale have been underway for six months.
At ACU, incoming freshmen will receive either an iPhone or iPod Touch to organize their academic and personal lives. The Texas university has already developed more than 15 web applications to accompany the new technology, including homework alerts, in-class participation programs, on-campus maps and payment tracking services, according to a statement from ACU Chief Information Officer Kevin Roberts.
But these gadgets don't come for free; students will be responsible for paying usage fees associated with the iPhone.
OCU announced its decision to participate in a similar program last week. Previously, OCU provided its students and faculty with PCs. New freshmen will now receive MacBooks and a choice between an iPhone or iPod Touch. Older students will have the option to upgrade to the MacBooks, paying a modest one-time upgrade fee, said OCU Chief Technology Officer John Hermes.
The cost of the new initiative at OCU is covered by a technology fee built into students' tuition, Hermes explained.
CAS sophomore Molly Hubert said the program's aim is a good one.
"Our universities should be teaching us to use new technology in our daily lives," she said. "We pay enough money to go here, we should all have access to the best technology."
According to Marilyn McMillan, NYU's chief information technology officer, the NYU School of Medicine is already piloting a related program called iTunes U to distribute instructional modules, but the university is considering collaborating with Apple to help further incorporate technology to all academic life.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 3
Sulayman F
Sulayman F
posted 3/10/08 @ 8:43 PM EST
It's a cool idea, but we'll have to wait for the iPhone 2.0 update (and iPod touch update as well) that supports NYU's special WiFi login system. Apple said they will release the update in June. (Continued…)
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