Eric Marintzer, UNL student president, said he supports the fee, largely because it will be phased in incrementally and because the benefits are overwhelmingly positive. Marintzer said the fees are needed to ensure UNL students remain competitive in the job market and for UNL to remain competitive in attracting new students. Kent Hendrickson, associate vice chancellor for information services, agrees. Faculty expect and demand that students use computers and other services. More and more courses are being designed to use computers.
Employers expect graduates to be fluent in information skills.
Because of rapid changes in the computing industry, it is difficult for students to keep abreast of the latest models of computers or the latest software versions. The university, Hendrickson said, should provide those resources if it expects students to use them. These would include software and hardware upgrades with a short-term life expectancy and technical support to help students use computers and software. The fee would not fund expenses for long-term development and maintenance of wiring or hardware with an extended life. The fee will not support administrative computing.