David Lei | Computing the need

If Huntsman Hall had an anthem, it would be the Beatles classic Eleanor Rigby. "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?" I've caught myself subconsciously humming the song leaving Huntsman in the wee hours of the morning, walking by far too many project groups holed up in study rooms.

Still, despite its insidious claim over the souls of all those who would seek a Wharton degree, I've always had a fond appreciation for Huntsman - the building is a great model for the sort of resources schools really ought to provide their students: two Au Bon Pains, comfy armchairs, group study space and, of course, computer labs.

Unfortunately, with shrinking endowments putting the pinch on many university budgets, investment in student facilities might be on the decline throughout higher education. While Penn has not announced any such plans, other high-caliber universities are experimenting with the idea.

The University of Virginia, for example, recently announced plans to shutter all of its public computer labs over the next three years.

It makes a sort of sense - over 99.9 percent of freshmen enrolled at UVA in 2007 owned a personal computer (only 4 unlucky individuals did not), typically a laptop. That's a huge increase over the 74 percent "first-year student computer ownership" logged there in 1997.

Now that a laptop is as standard as extra-long sheets for every freshman, it seems less necessary for schools to provide that sort of technology for students.

But the computer labs scheduled to be closed were in heavy use as recently as last year - according to a statement posted on UVA's Web site, lab computers saw approximately 651,900 hours of use in 2008.

At Penn, Huntsman's computer-equipped group study rooms and computer labs are often full during the day. Ditto for computer labs elsewhere around campus, including those conveniently located in college houses.

According to the Provost's office, computer labs at Penn fall under the domain of many separate departments, so it's unclear if a change as sweeping as the one planned at UVA could ever happen here.

Let's hope it doesn't. These spaces make it possible for students to escape distractions (Facebook, Twitter, Perez Hilton, Sporcle, etc.) that seem so much more tempting when you're working on your own computer. More importantly, they invite and facilitate student collaboration.

Then there's a not-insignificant practical reality - technology fails. Computers break down. And although virtually all college students now own a computer, I'd be surprised if more than a handful have two. School-supported computers are an always-reliable standby.

But what troubles me most is that the demise of public computer labs at UVA might signal a temptation to cut back on student facilities generally.

That's because this issue is ultimately about cutting costs more than anything else. In an interview with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Steve Hilton, vice president and chief information officer at UVA, explained that public computers labs currently cost $300,000 to maintain every year.

It's expected, however, that savings may fall short of that amount because new investments will have to be made to give students adequate access to educational software (what up, SPSS) and to address other concerns.

I can't help but sympathize with university administrators given the difficult decisions they are confronting. Cutting back on investment in unnecessary student facilities could mean a significant difference when balancing budgets.

But deeming these resources "unnecessary" reflects an attitude in education that's been proven wrong - the notion that learning ends at the classroom door. And given the costs of higher education, providing good student facilities should be something we expect from all schools.

Ultimately, compromise would help to create a far more sensible way forward. Yes, schools could probably pare down the number of public computers available over time with minimal impact. The space freed up could then be repurposed for general study use or group meetings at little or no additional cost.

In some college-house computer labs, for example, individual workstations have been eliminated in lieu of group-work areas that have a single computer equipped with a large monitor.

Besides, there's something nice about having a computer lab. Case in point: I typed this in a computer lab. On my laptop.

David Lei is a Wharton junior from Brooklyn, N.Y. He is the former Executive Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. The Lei-bertarian appears on Mondays. His email address is lei@dailypennsylvanian.com

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