Abstract:
This study utilized Internet-based surveys to elicit preferences for student technology fee spending in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University. The results show that 80% of students are unaware that they pay technology fees and almost 93% had little or no knowledge of how the fees were spent. Based on students’ responses the two most popular spending areas are for classroom multi-media technologies and departmental proposals using field-specific technologies such as GPS units or field specific computer software/hardware with each receiving an average of 25.2% for responses. Preferences by respondent characteristics showed that individuals’ habits affect categorical spending. For example, students who use computer labs more often for classwork prefer that more money go towards department technology proposals than classroom technology; upperclassmen have a significantly negative preference for department proposals; and students who own a computer have a stronger preference toward department proposals than those who do not own a computer. The job of the administrators is to understand these differences and shape policies that provide students with the technologies they need to succeed.
Key words:
Spending fees, quantifying student preferences, CASNR computer labs
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