And if students have financial difficulties, they can get student loans to buy computers, Leineweber said. Spencer Leineweber with student Donovan Bumanglag. The University of Phoenix has phased in its computer requirement during the past three years so students wouldn't be caught off guard financially, said Robert W. McIntosh, chairman of the university's information systems and technology department. Before students enroll, they must sign a form that they have access to a personal computer and an email address. If students aren't computer literate, they won't make it.
Most faculty have a Web page that includes a course syllabus and lists grades within five days.
The school can't afford to provide a computer for each of its 1,400 working adult students, and even if it could, doing so much computer work on campus would be difficult, he said. McIntosh said he and the university work with students to make sure everyone gets email and computer access. Jon Van Pelt is working on a master's degree in information systems at the University of Phoenix. Some students were upset when the university started the computer requirement, he said. Chaminade University, meanwhile, is moving toward computer requirements, said spokesman Peter Wolf.