Our concept of technology availability must expand beyond the campus to encompass the community. Network-based education can promote diversity by significantly improving access to affordable, high quality college learning for traditionally underrepresented students, such as the economically disadvantaged, the disabled, those who are geographically isolated, as well as workers and students with different learning styles. The need for human capital in our society is immense. We cannot afford to miss the opportunity for people to realize their potential by allowing some learners to remain disenfranchised. Advances in communication, collaboration and computing have shown that we have the ability to reach virtually any learner.
Technology is a required competency in the workplace.
Scholarship has been transformed by computers through techniques such as visualization and collaboration. Yet many institutions are unwilling to mandate technology competency as a graduation requirement, or the purchase of computers as part of the cost of an education. Programs that address these issues are termed student mobile computing or universal access. Without an institutional commitment to student mobile computing, we risk building a society of haves and have-nots. There is evidence that this is already happening.