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COVER STORY
Changing the Way the College Operates
The impact of technology is everywhere
By Alex Sachare

In addition to helping students learn and teachers teach, digital media technology is changing the way the College conducts its operations in fundamental ways. From the methods used to attract and evaluate prospective students, to the way their needs are met during their years on campus, to maintaining their connections to classmates and the College as alumni, the impact of technology is everywhere.

The admissions office is one that has changed dramatically, incorporating new technology into every aspect of its operation. "Remember that our primary cohort is 17 and 18-year-olds, and they are on the Web every day," says Director of Admissions Eric Furda. "We had reached a critical juncture. So many students are attracted to the Web to start their college search, it has become increasingly important to have a first-class Web site."

And that's what the College is developing, thanks to an effort that has included all units of the College and been coordinated by Columbia College Information Technology, under the guidance of Sue Mescher, associate dean of administration and planning. "The Web site is rich with information, written for all levels and all constituencies," says John Grogan '99, who brings the perspective of a young alumnus to his position as director of information technology. He is assisted by Helen Chu, associate director for Web development and strategy, and Jeffrey Woodbury, associate director for infrastructure, and they are supported by a number of tech-savvy undergraduate and graduate interns.

Revamping and expanding the College Web site (www.college.columbia.edu) is just one of the ongoing responsibilities of the IT office. In addition to servicing the day-to-day computer needs of on-campus College units, the IT staff works closely with each unit to plan strategies for using technology to achieve goals and carry out missions.

"We also provide a computing infrastructure for student groups within the Office of Student Development and Activities, like the Columbia College Student Council and NSOP (New Students Orientation Program), to succeed in their respective missions," says Grogan. "The goal is to assist in SOA's mission with the student body - to assist the groups in their success and to provide an infrastructure that promotes continuity. If a group has entered good data, five years from now that group's leaders can look back and see a program that worked well and replicate it."

Nowhere has the impact of technology been more striking than in admissions. As applications have soared and the College has become more selective, Columbia finds itself competing with other leading schools for elite high school students. To meet this challenge, admissions must play a more proactive role in identifying and recruiting these students, and technology is crucial in this effort. Throughout this fall, 14 admissions officers have been traveling the country meeting students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors - connected to the campus office by laptop computers.

"We've turned them into road warriors," says Grogan. "It's a culture change. We're moving from a stationary office to a mobile office. With laptops, admissions officers can do just about everything they could do in the office - e-mail, scheduling, access files, prospect data, applicant data, data analysis."

And by being out in the field, meeting top prospective students face-to-face, admissions officers have a better chance of convincing prospects that Columbia is where they ought to be. "This allows us to maintain a competitive advantage over the schools we compete with for distinguished students," says Grogan.

Furda says technology "impacts how we can recruit students, how students send us information and how we evaluate the student dossier. We can break down the demographics of applicants online, which provides a great opportunity to manage our applicant pool. It's becoming more efficient for us to do the processing side of our jobs, so the less time we have to spend on the initial process and procedure, the more we can spend evaluating and counseling, which will help us better shape an incoming class."

A case in point came last summer. "Students who at some point had indicated they were interested in majoring in the sciences were invited to campus on August 4 for a new program called Science at Columbia, which was a great success," says Furda. More than 300 prospective applicants and their parents heard presentations by faculty members from the science departments and attended a program in Lerner Hall that featured a two-way interactive video conference with faculty at Biosphere 2 in Arizona.

Since November 1999, candidates for admission have been able to file applications online. "What that means is that anything the high school student is responsible for filling out can be done online," Furda explains. "They can fill it out, stop, go back to it and make changes, and when they finish, it's just click and submit. But there is still some paper involved in the process. Students still have to have letters of recommendation done." As of mid-October, Furda estimated that 30-40 percent of the applications for the Class of 2005 had been submitted electronically, a percentage he expects will rise over the next few years.

Technology is also changing ARC, the Alumni Representative Committee, whose members across the country interview prospective students and file reports with the admissions office. "The goal was to move from a paper-based system that was manually intensive for volunteers and especially for staff to one that is online," says Grogan. "For alumni who want to be involved, within one or two days of signing up for ARC they can be working. Regional chairs can log on, see who their reps are, who the applicants are, and assign applicants to reps. Reps can log on and contact their prospective students right away, so applicants feel we are more responsive to them. Reps fill out their interview reports online, and they can also see decisions three days after they are made. It brings much more immediacy to the program."

The admissions Web site plays an important role in the process, as a place where prospective students and parents can get basic information about Columbia and have many of their questions answered. "This does not replace visits," says Furda. "We are still encouraging students to physically visit the campus and get a personal feel for it. But by the time they get here, prospective students can be a lot more informed than they used to be."

Without tipping his hand to rival schools, Furda says he wants to expand the site and make it more dynamic. "It's going to be a tool not just for students but for people of all ages. We want to represent the school, to counsel students and parents about what the school has to offer. Technology is great, but fortunately Columbia has great content."

David Charlow '85, associate dean for student affairs and director of undergraduate student financial planning, echoes one of the key points made by Furda about the impact of technology. "The more families can answer the simple questions or perform the simple tasks online, through the Web site and by e-mail, the more staff time we can free up to work with families on the more complex issues. It's a matter of enhancement of service delivery. Everything we do online is not instead of personal service, but in addition to it."

The financial aid part of the College Web site includes information about Columbia's need-blind admissions and need-based financial aid policies, the cost of a College education and financial aid options for students and parents, including application forms that may be downloaded.

"We have a lot of information to convey, and we find the Web to be one way to do it," says Charlow. "It expands our office hours to 24 hours a day. People can ask questions at their convenience by sending us an e-mail, and get information when it's convenient for them. And as more people use the Web and e-mail, it makes it easier for other people to contact us directly by phone. There's still a lot of paper involved, there are still forms to fill out and we still need a tax return. But more and more we're getting automated."

When you log onto the College's Web page at www.college.columbia.edu, you will find news headlines and key upcoming dates, plus links to five areas customized for constituencies: students, parents, alumni, prospective students and about Columbia College. "It's a very different approach, thinking in terms of communities rather than subjects," notes Mescher.

	The College alumni home page links to everything of interest to alumni, from upcoming events to back issues of CCT to ways to get involved.

"The structure is set up to meet the needs and desires of the users," says Chu. "For example, all programs that involve mentoring are grouped under one link. If an alumnus wants to get involved but doesn't know the name of a specific program, he or she can click onto this button and see the entire list."

Adds Grogan, "We want to make it easy for people to find what they want, who to contact and how to get involved. We don't want to make them jump through hoops."

Clicking on the alumni link brings you to the alumni home page, which also can be accessed directly (www.college.columbia.edu/alumni/). Here are 12 links to everything of interest to alumni, including upcoming events, online searchable versions of Columbia College Today, how to notify Columbia of a change or address and listings of various alumni groups and offices. You can't yet make a donation online (this process is in the works), but you can find information about annual giving to the College Fund, methods of giving, and donor groups such as the John Jay Associates and Hamilton Associates.

It's also one of numerous places where alumni can sign up for e-mail forwarding, a new University program that provides a free, lifelong Columbia address for receiving e-mail no matter how often they change jobs or Internet Service Providers. E-mail forwarding (www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/forward/) also serves as a method of identity verification for other services to be added, certifying the user as a Columbia alum.

Also on the alumni site are class pages with news and event information of interest to specific classes, as well as mailing lists via which a class member or a member of an affinity group can send an e-mail and have it go to all from that class or group who have registered, either in real time or digest form. There is a calendar of events that is a live database rather than a static page, with input from the alumni office, student affairs, the admissions office and many other places.

Additional features are under development, including an online directory from e-mail forwarding that will be linked to a change of address form.

Returning to the main College Web site, there are a host of features to benefit students, from the standpoint of both academic affairs and student services.

One example is the online Bulletin that has made scheduling classes easier than ever, including information on academic policies, requirements and scheduling. All available classes are searchable by a host of criteria, including day and time, level, professor and whether a class meets certain major or other requirements. "The interesting thing here is that this was put together by a former student (Grogan), using what was important to him as a student," observes Mescher.

Say, for example, a student has a Monday-Wednesday class at 10 and another at 12 and doesn't want to leave an hour empty in between; a search provides all available classes starting at 11! (www.college.columbia.edu/students/academics/bulletin/)

Soon students may be able to register for courses online. Student Information Systems has launched online registration for some graduate schools, but that system has not yet been implemented for undergraduates, officials choosing to wait until the system is tested and refined. So for now undergraduates must register by phone, which is still significantly easier than waiting in long lines (or camping out) to register in person, a process older alumni remember not so fondly.

The ability to search online is used in many ways. Students thinking of spending a semester abroad no longer need to contact each department to find out what suitable programs might be available. "There now is a database that lists all Columbia-approved programs for study abroad that can be searched by region, country or language," says Chu.

The Center for Career Services has a significant presence on the Web, with information on its site (www.columbia.edu/cu/ccs/) for students, parents, faculty and alumni as well as employers. To make sure seniors don't miss an opportunity, CCS sends out a weekly e-mail listing upcoming events and visits by employers, information that also is available online.

Another weekly e-mail is sent from each of the class centers to students, with announcements of upcoming academic and social events sponsored or co-sponsored by the class centers as well as reminders of approaching deadlines.

"It's important for us to communicate with our students in a direct manner," says Dean of Student Affairs Chris Colombo. "For us, the question with technology is not so much if we use it, but how we use it."

One use students can look for on the Web in the near future is what Colombo describes as "a map of the advising system, talking about all the pieces students can tap into to get all the information they need." A prototype of the system is expected to be ready early in 2001, at which point student feedback will be solicited and incorporated into the system before it is rolled out.

"It is not meant to replace the advising system," emphasizes Grogan, "but rather to complement it, serving as a resource and a tool for both general and specific information. It will clearly define the expectations, roles and responsibilities of all parties involved, from students to RAs to the class centers to faculty and alumni. It will describe the ways in which alumni can get involved in the advising system and better it, such as through mentoring or by providing special guidance for students of color, pre-professionals and others."

Another site of interest to students is Mascot, which came online in September and attempts to create an online campus community for the College, SEAS and Barnard (General Studies may soon be added). It features an online facebook, with directory information and photos of all students (a student can "lock" his photo, as well as all other identifying information except name and e-mail address, if he or she does not want it to be viewed), and facilitates the posting of announcements by group leaders to a target audience. "We're hoping this will become the comprehensive activities calendar for our students," says Charlow.

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