Reposted with permission from Wired News....
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College Requires Online App
by Katie Dean
3:00 a.m. May. 17, 2000 PDT
You are just a click away from becoming college student.
Starting this fall, all students applying to West Virginia Wesleyan
College will be required to apply online.
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"We just felt that the online application is
something that we can expect from
students, and we also feel that we can
support that," said Karen Petitto, an
instructional technology specialist and
professor at the liberal arts college in
Buckhannon, West Virginia.
Petitto said that the online application
process will help the college cut down on
data entry, and allow the officials to
automate a lot of the correspondence with
students as well.
"We just think this is a great introduction to
what we're all about at Wesleyan," Petitto said.
The new policy was a logical step in the
overall technology plan of the college,
Petitto said. The school -- which has an
enrollment of 1,500 students -- already
provides all faculty and incoming freshmen
with laptops. Students use the same laptop
for the first two years, then receive a newer
model after their sophomore year. The
student has the option of buying the laptop
from IBM after they graduate.
Admissions recruiters who visit high schools
will be able to assist prospective students
who want to apply, but do not have computers.
The application, which costs $30, will be
available through Embark.com, a site that
offers online test preparation in addition to
college applications. The application covers
basic information like personal, family, and
demographic data, academic record, subject
interests, and an optional essay component.
All the information is private and goes only
to the college.
Additional information, like high school
transcripts and SAT scores, will be requested
by the college after the student has applied.
Petitto said the school was happy to turn
over the data management process to
Embark.com.
"It gets us wonderful data from students
right from the start, as opposed to
admissions staff re-entering data sent to us
from students in all different formats,"
Petitto said.
Many universities offer the option of
applying online through their own sites, or
sites like CollegeNET and CollegeLink.com.
Only one other school, the MIT Sloan School
of Management, requires it.
College students also can apply for financial
aid and register for courses online at many schools.
But not all educators agree that making
online applications mandatory is a good idea.
"We won't be doing that," said Paul
Thiboutot, the dean of admissions at
Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
"We believe in keeping lots of options open
for kids that want to apply."
"I think there's no harm in making it an
option and no value in making it a
requirement," agreed Terry Swenson, the
dean of admissions at Colorado College.
"We still have students that are filling out
applications by hand, and some who have
electronic limitations."
Nevertheless, the trend towards online
applications is growing.
"We saw a 200 percent increase in online
undergraduate applications in the last
season," said Andrew Krcik, vice president of
marketing for Embark.com. "We expect that
trajectory to continue."
Copyright 1994-2000 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.
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Andy Carvin
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andy@benton.org
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