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Published by the Public Affairs Office at San Francisco State University, Diag Center.

#040
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: William Morris
phone: (415) 405-3606
e-mail: wmsalcie@sfsu.edu

San Francisco State among the "Most Wired" Universities in the Country

SFSU ranked the 38th most wired university by Yahoo! Internet Life---applauded for excellent tech support and student services.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, September 28, 2001 -- San Francisco State University has earned a place among the nation's most wired colleges in Yahoo!'s annual ranking of Web-friendly institutions. Ranked 38 in the nation, SFSU scored higher than any other California State University campus and ahead of nearly all of the University of California campuses.

"The fact that San Francisco State -- an urban, public university with a priority on teaching - is ranked 38th in the nation is quite remarkable," said San Francisco State President Robert A. Corrigan. "This ranking reflects both our realization that today's student must have access to technology to be successful in the classroom and in the world of work, and our commitment to making this happen. I am proud of our success."

The findings, published in the October issue of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine, were based on a survey of 1,300 U.S. universities and colleges in six categories, including infrastructure (speed and accessibility of the campus network), student resources, Web portal, E-learning, technology support and on-campus wireless access. Some categories, such as infrastructure and student resources, were weighted more than others to reflect their importance to computing life on campus.

Two years ago, San Francisco State was ranked 110 out of 200 universities by Yahoo! Internet Life.

"The goal at San Francisco State is to provide as much technology access and support as possible to our diverse student population as well as our faculty and staff," said Jonathan Rood, associate vice president for information technology. "Students can conduct much of the business of academic life online at our Web site. In addition, almost every weekday during the academic year we have two or three computer related courses that are free for students, faculty and staff. We have more than 300 self-paced, interactive, computer-based courses available as well."

For students who are unable to access the various online services at home, the John True Computer Lab, located on the ground floor of the J. Paul Leonard Library, is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

"As an international student, round the clock access to computers was a great help to me to stay in touch with people back home and organize my upcoming studies at SFSU. Pretty much everything related to SFSU was online," said David Backman, who is working towards a master's degree in business administration.

In addition to grading San Francisco State's performance in the six categories, the authors of the rankings noted that the University "excels in tech support."

"SFSU provides extensive technical support on the Web for students," said Rood. "We often allot time in regular credit classes for technology training. The Help Desk provides walk-in support for one-on-one training and assistance, plus call-in telephone support for students. We also have dedicated phone lines for call-in support for faculty and for staff, and all users can check the status of their help desk request on the Web."

San Francisco State University's Information Technology serves over 26,000 students, including the 1,582 freshmen and sophomore who live in campus dorms, and more than 3,000 faculty and staff members.

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Last modified October 8, 2001, by Office of Public Affairs