Kevin Ortmann, a junior student, sat in the Centennial Room, the college's student union, eating lunch with his fiance, Amy Jensen, also a junior. Open on his lap was his notebook computer, one of the reasons he said he transferred to Buena Vista this year. If you're going to have all these loans to pay anyway, you should be exposed while you're here to as much technology as you can. The cost was offset by budget money that was tagged for replacing desktop computers every three years. About 70 desktop computers were removed from labs and sold to assist the cost of the notebooks.
Students also have the option to purchase their laptop at fair market value upon graduation.
Heinen was a student who wasn't thrilled about the tuition increase, especially since she was a senior. I changed my mind when we got them this year. The students are kind of taken with them. The faculty have also been given laptops over the past two years, which has changed the learning environment in several classrooms. Student Phillip Lundberg, who also helped install the wireless system, logs onto one of the school's networked chat rooms to have group discussions about a class.