Our president, as is true of many other presidents, is on the road for a significant amount of time each year. A laptop computer with modem provides electronic access back to campus and enables the president to maintain direct contact with the key members of his management team. The contact occurs through electronic mail with capability for attaching word processing documents, spreadsheets and other items. When the president is on campus, a large portion of his wide-ranging contacts with members of the campus community occur through the identical mechanism. Many faculty have found that office hours are now twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week through electronic mail.
Students can send questions, comments or concerns at a moment's notice.
Faculty can respond thoughtfully at a time convenient for them. The result is enhanced communication between students and faculty. This form of interaction extends beyond the teacher-learner pair. Ever larger portions of university communication are conducted with electronic mail and messaging. Additionally, group authorship of documents is dramatically enhanced.