The University of Colorado at Boulder jumped to 28th in the Yahoo! Internet Life survey of America聮s Most Wired Colleges 2000, up from 61st last year.
CU-Boulder also now ranks 17th among all public research institutions across the country, and, for the second consecutive year, is first in the Rocky Mountain Time Zone.
The Yahoo! Internet Life survey was conducted in partnership with Peterson's Guide, which provides education information in print and online. All 3,631 open-enrollment accredited undergraduate two-year and four-year institutions in the United States were invited to participate in this year's survey.
Peterson's collected data through an online survey instrument. Results were then tabulated and reviewed by the editors of Yahoo! Internet Life, who determined the rankings and posted them at .
CU-Boulder is emerging as an Information Technology leader in higher education, according to Bobby Schnabel, associate vice chancellor for academic and campus technology.
Several factors have contributed to the campus聮 higher ranking, Schnabel said.
"The ATLAS program is one of the key initiatives at CU-Boulder that sets us apart from other public institutions," he said. ATLAS 聳 the Alliance for Technology, Learning, and Society 聳 is a campus-wide academic initiative that develops and sustains excellence in curriculum, teaching, research and outreach related to information and communication technology.
The campus boasts high-speed, port-per-pillow wiring in all residence hall rooms, extensive IT support of faculty for teaching and learning, including
educational technology support staff in every school and college; and the Faculty Computer Program, which provides all CU-Boulder faculty members with a new computer every three years.
Another contributing factor in CU聮s standing was the Student Computer Lending Program, which provides computers to more than 160 low-income students each year.
In addition, the campus is part of the newly developed Boulder Research and Administrative Network (BRAN), which provides high-speed links between the university, the major federal research laboratories in Boulder and the City of Boulder.
Another initiative that sets CU-Boulder apart is the Technology, Arts and the Media certificate program, which helps students from all disciplines acquire technology skills and a critical perspective on the role of technology in society through course work and multidisciplinary-multimedia projects.
CU-Boulder聮s Web site is at . The ATLAS Web site is at .