Iowa State was recently named the 20th most wired university in the nation, a substantial increase from last year’s rank of 81. The survey, compiled by Yahoo! Internet Life, ranks the top 100 institutions.

Pete Siegel, director of Academic Information Technologies, said the Yahoo! rankings are extremely competitive.

“The No. 1 ranked institution was Carnegie Mellon, [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] was sixth. [New York University] was 29th; Ohio [University] was 38th; we were right in there,” Siegel said. “There were good schools ahead of us and a lot of good schools behind us. Kansas State was ranked the 33rd most wired campus.”

Siegel said the reason for large increase in the ISU ranking was simple, even though the criteria for the survey were very complex.

“The main reason ISU is doing so well is that we continue to make steady progress. Many universities that did well three years ago stopped working at it, and we keep at it,” he said.

The survey, completed four months ago, considered several factors, including online application, online library services, Web-based registration, technological support, classroom Web access, space for student Web pages, public labs and other factors.

Siegel said technological support for students was one of the areas where Iowa State especially shined.

“Yahoo! was very impressed with AccessPlus and our innovative and informative Web sites. There are a lot of sites that showcase neat things that students are doing, and they liked that,” he said.

But Siegel was quick to point out that the survey should not dictate what advances in technology the university pushes for.

“Survey or no, we are going to do what is best for our campus,” he said.

Diana Pounds, communications manager in the Office of University Relations, said Iowa State has had a spot on the infamously volatile list all four years it has been conducted.

“In 1997, we were ranked 19th, but that survey was done quickly with fewer institutions involved,” Pounds said. “In 1998, ISU ranked 48th.”

The reason the list is so different every year, Pounds said, is the factors that influence the survey usually change from year to year.

“This year, everything was done online, and all institutions were invited to participate. Each year the list gets more popular, as well,” she said.

Pounds said the high ranking is especially rewarding to the students and administrators who have pushed to make Iowa State a leader in the computing field.

“We are pleased to be on the list. List or not, we are a pretty ‘wired’ university. We have a lot of technology-savvy students, and we have worked hard to support that,” Pounds said. “At least now, everyone else knows what we already knew.”