13 December 1984 Computers to become more prevalent in the future within universities

Computer terminals will become as much a part of office equipment as telephones are today, and there will be closer connection between the computer and phone and telex communications, the Lincoln College Council meeting was told today.

Before the council was a leave report from the director of the Lincoln College Centre for Computing and Biometrics, Mr N.S. (Neil) Mountier.

Mr Mountier was overseas from July to October this year visiting universities in Canada, Britain and Australia to look at computer networks.

According to Mr Mountier desk-top computer terminals will have a multiplicity of uses in universities.

These will be used for word processing that minor changes can be made to a text after a typist has made the original entry.

A book or scientific paper could be written from the first draft through to typesetting, with the computer network closely linked to the printing process.

Electronic mail "the mail of the future" will have letters and memorandums sent and received through the computer terminal.

Correspondence will be filed and retrieved, and a link to the library will allow catalogues to be searched and literature found.

There will be immediate access to student records, to account balances and transactions, and for calculating and summarising data, and producing graphics.

The desk-top computer will be able to work independently as a micro-computer, but will be connected to a network linking all offices on the campus, and with access to national and international facilities.

Mr Mountier said that access by computer would become as usual as access by phone is now.

He said much of this would be seen on most campuses within the next decade.

Some campuses he had visited were hesitant about including administrative data because of security fears.

Security of such data would need to be developed to the level of existing paper systems .

Development of fibre-optic networks, broadband co-axial cable and dual-voice PABX telephone exchanges would affect networks.

Telephone and telex facilities would need to be planned along with computer networks.

Campuses would not have simple networks, but series of interconnected networks.

Computer power will become more distributed around universities as more sophisticated micro-computer technology is developed.

Computer centre staff will provide more support for micro-computer users, from demonstrating, advising on purchases, through to providing local maintenance.

Word processing was used on all the campuses he visited, but much had grown haphazardly so attempts were being made to introduce order into using the system.

Computerised typesetting was now common, and printing was becoming more computerised.

Some universities were using laser printers for high-quality work, including graphics, with quiet, high-speed production.

One Canadian university had incorporated the printery into the campus computer centre.

British universities are better provided with computer resources than any New Zealand university, in spite of stiff financial restrictions in recent years .

There has been a British Computer Board for the last 15 years, responsible for funding university and research computing.

Generous amounts of money have been given, but during the 1970s there was pressure to buy British, but this had lessened now.

Mr Mountier said that Lincoln College had a good base with computing equipment and staff from which to move forward, as computing became more important in teaching, research and administration.

Further information from Mr Neil Mountier, Centre for Computing and Biometrics, Lincoln College, Canterbury 8150, New Zealand.