Computing at UW-MadisonDivision of Information Technology
Students Faculty/Staff Services Services A through D Services E through L Services M through R Services S through Z Help Desk Tech Store About DoIT   

Research

Student computing trends

Complete 2003 PowerPoint Presentation

Student computing ownership by date

This figure shows the rate of computer ownership from 1998 until the present While grad students’ ownership traditionally has been high, undergraduates—especially freshmen and sophomores—have approached and even exceeded the ownership of upperclassmen and graduate students.

Student computing ownership by class

This graph shows the same data as the graph before, but it is organized by class so one can see the ownership changes across time for each class. The adoption rate by underlassmen is very apparent.


How students access the internet

This figure is notable primarily for its trend of increasing broadband use among student in the past five years. There has also been a concomitant decline in the use of the WiscWorld modem pool and computer labs as modes of access to the Internet.


Student Technology Ownership

This line graph shows the adoption of laptops, pdas, and cell phones among students. Cell phone use, and PDA use to a lesser extent, have skyrocketed since we started tracking these products in 1999.


Overall student computer ownership

This figure charts computer ownership overall. About 92% of all students now own a computer.