Oracle Online

The lab will be located in what is currently a meeting room in Sorin and, barring disaster, will be open by next fall.

Part of the delay in installing a 24-hour lab has been security concerns. Other locations that have been given consideration, like the basement of Bush Library, but have been deemed either not secure enough or not cost-effective, or both.

The Sorin location has been chosen because Sorin, already equipped with identification card-swipe entry, will be easily accessible to students and the space should allow for about 15 computers.

The project is estimated to cost around $200,000 and even the increase in student fees won’t be able to pay for all of the work.

Another big project will be classroom improvements, including things like mounted LCD projectors in each classroom, instructor podiums with computers, VCRs and DVD players in the larger classrooms. Smaller classrooms will include laptop hookups.

Along with the new lab in Sorin, many of these improvements are expected to be in place by next fall. Although the student fee will not increase until next year, the university will be able to pay for the improvements over the summer based on the intake they expect from the increase.

Shelling out the additional $110 a year is not something most students are going to be looking forward to. While Pontiff understands the reluctance to fork out cash, he also wants students to know that the changes coming about are the direct result of what they have asked for.

“Looking closely at the student surveys,” Pontiff said, “students want better technology,” and that goal is exactly what these improvements are aimed at.

The beauty of earmarking money for technology fees, Pontiff said, is that students get the opportunity to know exactly where their money is headed. When tuition increases, he said, there is really no way of knowing exactly where the money goes, but with a technology fee students can have input into where the money gets spent.

Compared to other comparable schools, Pontiff said the new tech fee will still be well within reason. He recently received an e-mail from Drake University, which is considering raising technology fees from their current $220 a semester. According to Pontiff, most universities have similar fees, which range from $150-$200, which puts Hamline “well within the ballpark” of other universities’ costs.

In addition to the two major projects in the works, Pontiff is looking to add to the law school’s resources by getting a laptop card and to the creation of a Digital Media Center. The DMC would provide resources for faculty and those who support transforming courses to optimally utilize technology. He also looks forward to future improvements under President Linda Hanson’s leadership. “She understands what it means to be in a 21st-century economy,” Pontiff said. That means Hamline students can look forward to continuing improving technology standards on campus.