PROVOST JO ANN GORA QUOTED IN NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE ON OLD DOMINION'S COMPUTER LITERACY REQUIREMENTS

Old Dominion University Provost Jo Ann Gora was quoted in a Sept. 29 New York Times article on the university's computer literacy efforts.

The story describes the computer literacy requirement implemented last year by Old Dominion as part of a new General Education program. Initiatives at the University of Texas and Florida State also were mentioned in the story, which can be viewed at http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/cyber/education/29education.html.

"Knowledge of computers is critical to being able to function well in the 21st century," Gora is quoted as saying. "It's just as important as an understanding of the English language."

Among other ways, Old Dominion students now can fulfill the computer literacy requirement by taking a one-semester course designed by the computer science department. All students are expected to have learned certain fundamentals, including basics of hardware and computer systems, Internet research skills and computer ethics.

According to the story, university officials are considering whether to require students to pass a computer literacy exit exam, in addition to the exit writing proficiency exam, before graduation.