These opportunities and other electronic means will help to improve access to students wanting the education. While most of the actual construction will be completed by the time of the Team visit, there will still be challenges. The completion of several science labs, renovation in areas vacated by services moving to new areas, and equipping classrooms for high tech teaching all remain to be done. Other facility needs for the future will be to insure building maintenance, enhance acoustics and see to climate control. A process for the maintenance and replacement of computers and other academic equipment has been discussed in recent Budget Hearings and will certainly be addressed.
Technology is both a strength and a challenge.
While we have made great strides, there are certainly objectives to be met, such as a computer on every faculty desk. This will involve not only the hardware and software, but the very important human factor in the form of faculty development. UCO must remain responsive to changing needs of the society which supports it. While it can not honor every program request, it must be responsive to regional needs with programmatic initiatives. Commission on the Future of Higher Education has continually stressed the need for the universities to be able to respond in a timely manner to help meet the social and economic needs of the State.