Stevens ranks among Top 20 “Wired Colleges” in the US

HOBOKEN , N.J. — Stevens Institute of Technology is ranked among The Princeton Review and PC Magazine’s Top 20 Wired Colleges 2007 – a just-announced top ranking that acknowledges Stevens’ national prowess in wired and wireless technology for students on campus.

“With graduate-level facilities and resources offered to undergrads,” writes PC Magazine in the January 2007 issue, “Stevens Institute in Hoboken , New Jersey , is a tech student’s dream- come-true. Stevens offers classes in robotics and cybersecurity, and the Computer and Console Gaming Society (C2GS ) gives students a chance to kick back, interact, and unwind.”

“Stevens’ inclusion among the Top 20 Wired Colleges demonstrates once again that Stevens is at the forefront of education that integrates the latest information technology and computer science acumen across the curriculum,” said Stevens’ President, Dr. Harold J. Raveche. “Being on this leading edge means that Stevens graduates are exceptionally well prepared to thrive and flourish in the networked professional world.”

Being at the forefront in “connectedness” is not new for Stevens. “In 1982, Stevens was the first institution to require all undergraduates to own and use a personal computer,” said Eric Rosenberg, Associate Vice President for Technology and Information Services. “In the mid-1980s, Stevens was one of the first universities to provide wired network access from all residence hall rooms to the campus network and the Internet.”

Today, Stevens is continuing to expand its network as part of new construction on campus. The university's Babbio Center for Technology Management, opened for classes in April 2006, adds to Stevens’ already robust wired and wireless campus network. This new signature headquarters for technology management education, located near Hoboken ’s waterfront, is thoroughly networked for both wired and wireless technology, making it a unique state-of-the-art facility for leading-edge education in business and technology management. This connectedness has advanced further with the recent opening of the River Terrace Apartments, a thoroughly modern student residence complex located within a suite of completely restored and updated early twentieth-century brick and brownstone buildings, accessed through a fully networked, keyless swipe-card entry system that extends to each student’s individual room.

To rank America ’s Top Wired Colleges, The Princeton Review’s data collection team reached out to institutional and administrative contacts at the schools featured in the 2007 edition of The Princeton Review’s The Best 361 Colleges. They asked these university contacts to complete a brief online survey designed by The Princeton Review and PC Magazine, covering all aspects of technology and connectivity on their campuses. After collecting the surveys, the reviewers looked at each school’s responses. Eighteen of the survey questions were grouped into one of three categories: academics, student resources, and infrastructure.

The Academics section was weighted by the percentage of professors who post course materials and lectures online, whether the school offers faculty computer training, and the method(s) of delivering those online offerings. This section also included questions about whether students can take tests online, whether the school offers “distance learning,” and what other kinds of high-tech courses are offered.

The Student Resource section measured what kinds of hardware, software, and technology services are included with tuition, whether the school allows peer-to-peer connections over the campus network, and whether students have free online storage. The section also asked whether students can download applications and music, and whether the school lends equipment such as digital cameras and LCD projectors free of charge. Whether the school has its own online social network and whether the school streams media from the college radio or television station were also included.

Regarding Infrastructure, information was collected about the percentage of dorms that have computer labs or public-use computers, the average age of the majority of the public-use computers, the percentage of computer labs that are open 24/7, and the methods of 24/7 tech support that are available to students.

The complete survey results for all 240 responding schools will be posted to go.pcmag.com/wiredcolleges.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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