5 September 1995 Students Enjoy World-Leading Computer Access

A Lincoln University lecturer says New Zealand universities provide much better access to computers than some of the most prestigious institutions in North America.

Dr Rick Mansell, a senior lecturer in Parks, Recreation and Tourism, has just returned from the University of British Columbia and says student computer access at Lincoln is far superior.

"Frankly I was amazed at how well our facilities compared to what is provided by a top-ranked North American university," he said.

Graduate students at UBC had limited access to computers - usually with five minute restrictions due to demand. Undergraduates had access to pay computers at $30/hour. Lincoln has one computer for every 13 students, 24 hour free access and no time limits. Charges for printing were five times higher at UBC and there was no quota of free printing.

UBC students had to pay a yearly subscription for access to software, whereas Lincoln provided free access to major software for all students with more than 30 windows and DOS packages and some specialised software.

All Lincoln computers are 486's or better with 8 megabytes of RAM. Lincoln students also enjoyed local, national and international use of e-mail at no cost. Graduates have access to the Internet's world-wide web.

Mr Mansell said faculty and students tucked away in this corner of the world often overlooked the incredible level of access to modern technology at Lincoln, and how well it compared to that available to university students elsewhere.

Rick Mansell, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.