Although many students may take for granted the University's increasing reliance on electronic communication -- with everything from class registration to Student Council elections now done over the internet -- this use of technology has been ranked with the best in the nation.
Yahoo! Internet Life Magazine has rated the University eighth in its list of most wired universities and research schools.
The rankings were based on four general categories: access and infrastructure, administrative services, general resources and student support.
Officials from universities across the nation answered detailed questions on indicators such as technical support, Web space for students, accessibility to the Web and the number of computers on campus.
The almost 1,300 schools that replied to the survey this year were divided into two categories: colleges and baccalaureate schools and universities and research schools.
The magazine named Williams College the most wired school in the first category, while Carnegie Mellon University headed up the latter.
The University's eighth place finish in the university and research schools category was an improvement from last year's 34th place ranking.
Last year Yahoo! did not distinguish its rankings by category.
"I think it's extraordinary news," said Bob Reynolds, interim vice president for the Information Technology and Communication Office.
"We are extraordinarily well-prepared in networking and information services to faculty, students and administrators ... It confirms what we've known all along," Reynolds said.
University Relations Director Louise Dudley, whose office filled out Yahoo's survey, said she felt the University's strongest feature is that many different buildings on Grounds are extensively wired for the Internet.
She said having every dorm room wired with ethernet connections as well as online registration improvements such as adding ISIS to the Web were important factors.
She also named the University's home server, which gives all students online space for their files, the libraries' electronic resources and the long hours of the computer help desk as reasons for the University's high rating.
She added that many University administration processes such as purchasing and personnel transactions are now handled electronically.
"We always try to keep ahead of the curve technologically," Dudley said.
Linda Miller, interim associate dean for undergraduate admission, said the Office of Admissions plans to take advantage of the high ranking.
"People love ratings and rankings so we'll be sure to mention it," she said. "I think it's a selling point"
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