Computing at Dartmouth: A Survey of Faculty and Students

Abstract

The present study assessed faculty and student use of, and attitudes toward instructional computing at Dartmouth College. Telephone interviews were conducted with 108 faculty members who used computing in their courses, and 416 students (81%) of a randomly selected sample returned completed questionnaires. Although all members of the academic community have free access to the use of computing, the frequency of use varies widely, particularly among courses and among students within a given course. In general, though, Dartmouth has a very literate computing community. About half the faculty and over 80 percent of the students have written a computer program. Both faculty and students have very positive attitudes toward computing.