THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509210402
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH THIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Tidewater Community College's Chesapeake campus soon will have its first new building in nearly 20 years, complete with four computer labs designed to whisk the school into the next technological age.
But the college doesn't have enough computers to fill the labs. The state has not allocated the money necessary to fully equip the $3.4 million building, scheduled to open by November on the campus on Cedar Road in Great Bridge.
That's bad news for a school struggling to meet increasing calls from students and businesses for computer training.
``It's a tight situation,'' said Timothy H. Kerr, provost of the campus. ``We've got pretty high demand for that kind of training, and we're limited in what we can do.''
TCC President Larry L. Whitworth said the situation in Chesapeake is a reflection of a computer crunch throughout Tidewater Community College. He estimates his school needs $4.5 million in new technology.
``Somehow the state has not really recognized the essential nature of the computer in higher education,'' Whitworth said. ``It's not just Tidewater Community College that's in trouble.''
Students and teachers at TCC Chesapeake say the school desperately needs more and better computers.
The campus now has three small labs with about 50 computers. Two are used for computer classes. One lab is open seven days a week for student and teacher use.
Students often must line up to get an open machine. And the mantra in the lab is ``save, save, save,'' because files that are not backed up often are lost when the older computers crash.
``It's like yesterday,'' said Erin L. Hetland, 19, a student working in the lab Tuesday. ``There was a history test going on in here, and people were lined up'' waiting to take their tests on computers.
``They were standing out in the halls. It's almost like we're fighting over'' computers, Hetland said.
Arthur A. Mendonsa, assistant professor of information systems technology, said it's difficult for business teachers to replicate the environment of real offices, because TCC's older computers can't handle much of the new software that private businesses use.
``We want to have an environment that people can expect to see out in the business world, so it's really a disservice,'' Mendonsa said.
Many of the computers that TCC administrators now use also are outdated, Kerr said.
The bigger labs in the new building could hold a total of 88 to 100 computers, he said.
Only about 75 will be available, he said, a combination of new machines and old ones that are slow and have limited capabilities.
Kerr estimated it would take about $270,000 to outfit the new building and the rest of the college with computers for students, teachers and administrators.
The need is becoming more acute, Whitworth said, because TCC students are required to demonstrate computer literacy before earning an associate's degree.
``There's hardly anyplace you can work today that you don't need to know how to use computers,'' he said. ``And if there is a place, it's probably going to change soon.''
Margaret A. Miller, associate director for academic affairs at the State Council of Higher Education, said colleges aren't necessarily driving the changes, although some have been more successful than others at getting state funding.
Old Dominion University in Norfolk, for example, has received state support for its Teletechnet program, a system that allows students all over Virginia to take ODU courses via live video and telephone connections.
``We're pushing pretty hard on the use of teaching technology in order to increase both the efficiency and the effectiveness of the teaching and learning in the institution,'' Miller said. ``And that's going to put pressure on the institution to keep current on technology.''
Whitworth and Kerr said they plan to ask for more money for technology during the 1996 session of the legislature. They also will petition the city for funds.
``What I've been trying to do is convince local city councils that they have a stake in this, too,'' Whitworth said.
``It is Chesapeake's community college,'' he said. ``And if they don't have computers on the Chesapeake campus, nobody in Richmond is going to be affected. The people who are going to be affected are the people who live in Chesapeake.''
Mayor William E. Ward said two City Council members are studying the idea of an agreement between TCC and the city, in which the council would give TCC some funds in exchange for help meeting public school needs. Such an agreement could stretch to joint use of computers, he said.
``I know that in some schools we have adequate computers, but in others, we do not,'' Ward said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Timothy H. Kerr, provost at the Chesapeake campus of Tidewater
Community College, says his school is trying to meet rising demand
for computer training.
by CNB