Throughout the 80's and much of the '90s, the central strategy has been to promote technology usage. Wherever possible, the College devised a wide range of programs to encourage faculty, staff, and students to integrate computers into their professional work. Local promotion efforts included:

• Zero interest loans and matching grants to facilitate personal computer purchases
• Faculty development grants and training institutes for technology utilization
• Generous funding of projects to integrate technology into the curriculum.
• Substantial staffing of technology support professionals to assist faculty.

The impetus for technology utilization has shifted to forces outside of the College itself. As computers become a part of everyday culture, they generate the natural expectation that scholars will be proficient technology users. Just as there is no longer a need to teach people about automobiles and how they might improve everyday life, there will soon be little further need to promote computer usage.

Furthermore, the user demands for increased technology resources is rapidly nearing the point of exceeding the available financial support. Colleges are already shifting their funding strategies to those that limit technology spending and that target it toward the most critical support areas.

This will be a difficult institutional transition since it places personnel in the difficult situation of both desiring to foster technology utilization while telling programs and individuals that they will not be funded for the proposed resources.

Some examples

• How many computers does a college need?
• What are the boundaries to campus?