School's investment in technology over the past three years: $1,500,000
Technology changes made over the past three years:
The Sam M. Walton College of Business has undertaken an aggressive program of technology improvements and implementation since the 2000-2001 academic year. In addition to acquiring new servers, existing servers were upgraded to Windows 2000, a process which involved upgrading to Microsoft's new Active Directory. This tied the College more closely to campus Computing Services, as the College became a child domain in the campus-wide Active Directory. Hardware and software for the existing Microsoft Exchange server was upgraded, moving it to newer, faster hardware. We also upgraded to Microsoft Exchange 2000 and implemented an e-mail virus protection solution. The College assumed many of the service roles formerly provided by campus Computing Services, such as DNS, WINS, and DHCP.
A college-wide wireless network (WLAN) was implemented for use by students, faculty and staff. All classrooms utilize SMART Technology and have recently had data projectors and document cameras upgraded to the latest in digital technology. The computer systems in computing labs were also upgraded to newer, faster hardware, including flat-screen monitors and optical mice. World-Wide Web services provided to students and faculty have been increased, such as access to Internet2 and installation of a new web server specifically for enhanced instruction. This, coupled with new distance education capabilities such as multi-format compressed video allow students and faculty far greater options.
Security has also been a focus. All systems were upgraded to Windows 2000 or XP and were configured to a college-wide baseline of security, while a much more rigorous baseline was applied to all servers. A college firewall was installed and configured to provide even greater protection from hackers, both external and internal. A two-tiered, centrally controlled and monitored virus protection solution was deployed college wide.
IBM donated an S/390 mainframe computer to the college, and Wal-Mart donated a terra data computer, giving the College the opportunity to expose students to real-world software and hardware implementation. The Blackboard Learning System was chosen the standard for on-line coursework, and its usage has tripled since implementation a year ago. The aging Marcon/Fore networking infrastructure was totally replaced with Cisco equipment, greatly expanding network capabilities. Tivoli Storage Manager was adopted as the Disaster Recovery Management system, and has greatly increased the efficiency and frequency of data backups.
CAREER SERVICES
Do part-time MBA students have access to the career-development office? Yes
At what point?
At any time
Estimated percentage of part-time students that change careers during their studies
20%
If a full-time program is offered, are part-time MBAs permitted to interview on campus, alongside full-time students, for summer internships? No
If a full-time program is offered, are part-time MBAs permitted to interview on campus, next to full-time students, for full-time jobs? Yes
Part-time students included in resume drops before recruiters visit campus? Yes
ALUMNI AFFAIRS
B-school offers placement services for part-time MBA alumni? Yes
Alumni networking Web site: n/a
Current part-time MBAs given access to alumni database? Yes
The B-school has awarded 2,765 executive MBA degrees, and 2,765 MBA degrees since its founding. It has n/a living MBA alumni, and 0 MBA clubs n/a countries, where B-school alums can participate in school activities and alumni events.
During the past 12 months, n/a of alumni gave to the school's fundraising efforts. They gave a median gift of U.S. $100, and a mean gift of U.S. $1,245. The school has not received a gift in excess of U.S. $10 million between Jan. 2001 and Oct. 2003, and the B-school endowment is U.S. $73,785,000
Information found in this survey was provided on behalf of the B-school by Michele Halsell
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Copyright 2003 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
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