St. John's University is one of America's leading Catholic
universities—recognized for its outstanding academic programs, rich
student life, vibrant diversity and Big East vitality. Founded in
1870 by the Vincentian Community, St. John's has distinguished
itself by helping students gain the knowledge and skills they need
to serve others and achieve lasting success—personally,
professionally and spiritually.
St. John’s was founded with a very specific mission—provide
access to a high quality education for the underserved regardless
of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or economic status. Starting
with serving the children of the immigrant population in the 1800s
to providing the Jewish community with a place to study law, to
presenting the 2003 incoming freshmen with a state of the art
technology structure, St. John’s continues to provide people with
the necessary tools to get a leading education and better
themselves.
St. John’s is driven by a passion for academic excellence and
guided by a simple truth: higher education is about more than
getting a job; it’s about learning to make a difference in the
world. A St. John’s education is grounded by a comprehensive core
of critical thinking and skill building enhanced by technology and
linked to contemporary social challenges. What’s more, students are
actively involved in volunteering, mentoring and academic
service-learning programs that extend across the entire St. John’s
campus network and around the world.
In 2003, in keeping with its mission, St. John’s University
launched the Academic Computing Initiative (ACI), a broad-reaching
program to put leading-edge technology ubiquitously into the hands
of students and the faculty that teaches them. The ACI’s primary
goal is to give all students, irrespective of their background and
prior experience with computers, equal opportunity to use leading
edge technology in their everyday activities. In addition, the ACI
enhances the academic experience, both by providing additional
teaching options in and out of the classroom and by allowing
students working anywhere to have access to the extensive options
of the web and the University’s on-line resources.
The 2003 St. John’s Academic Computing Initiative program
consists of:
- A laptop computer
Every incoming freshman (approximately 3,000 in 2003) received an
IBM ThinkPad computer powered by Intel Centrino technology, running
Microsoft XP Professional and Office XP. The laptop remains
University property until the student graduates, at which point the
student keeps the machine and software. High-end laptops were
selected to ensure that they would continue to be useful over the
student’s four-year career at the University. About 400 faculty
members also received laptops at full-day "Faculty Institute"
seminars in which ideas were shared about how to use technology to
further enhance the academic experience of the students in/outside
the classroom. - A wireless network
St. John’s installed a Cisco Aironet wireless network on three of
its five campuses — Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan. (In 2004,
the University will extend wireless to their other two locations --
Oakdale, NY and Rome, Italy.) The network is designed to cover all
areas of the campuses including lounges, cafeterias, public spaces,
libraries and academic buildings as well as remote areas like
parking lots and garages to support Public Safety initiatives. All
University-issued laptops can use the network. In addition,
upperclassmen who have their own laptops or who purchased laptops
through St. John’s are encouraged to register their machines on the
network. - St. John’s Central
St. John’s Central is the University’s implementation of SCT’s
Campus Pipeline portal. Every student can use this student/faculty
portal, which provides web-based access to a wide array of academic
and administrative services, as well as personal tools like e-mail
and calendaring. The portal enables students to use resources at
any time from any Internet location. This enhances the student
experience, but also improves back-office efficiency by making
transactions, such as course registration, self-service. The portal
also opens ongoing, real-time communication between students and
faculty with e-mail and chat groups. As Dr. Jay Zimmerman,
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences says, "If the answers
are easier to obtain, students tend to ask more questions." - A Comprehensive Training
Program
Training and ongoing support are critical to unifying all
components of the St. John’s ACI. Every user received training
sessions covering issues ranging from powering on to backing up
data. Each laptop was loaded with a customized version of "Access
IBM", a tool that provides on-board help about the laptop and
University systems. St. John’s also opened support centers on two
of its five locations, to which users can bring their laptops for
support or warranty repair.
Many freshmen enter colleges already equipped and familiar with
all the latest technology. Never the less, a significant "digital
divide" remains between those students who have experience with
computer equipment and those with limited or no experience with
current computer technology. With the Academic Computing
Initiative, St. John’s University is "leveling the technological
playing field" to ensure that students are fully prepared for the
future.
Reverend Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of St. John’s
University states, "I speak of education as a sacred trust, meaning
that when students commit themselves to St. John’s, they trust that
we’re going to provide them with the education they need to go out
and live and work in the world and shape the world. Year after
year, St. John’s has been sensitive to that responsibility. This
has been manifested by our reading the signs of the times—What’s
next? What’s needed for the future? We help people realize their
potential, to work hard, and to be good citizens."