A recent survey found that the majority of students at Iowa State most often use a computer for academic or professional work and not for games.

Of those surveyed, 53 percent said they use a computer mostly for academic or professional work, and only 3 percent said they use a computer mostly for games.

E-mail ranked second among college students who use computers, with 36 percent saying they mostly use computers for the communication software. Only 6 percent of students surveyed said they use a computer most for Web activities, including chat rooms and surfing.

This survey, conducted by an ISU journalism class, was administered by telephone. Students were randomly selected from the ISU phone directory, and 296 undergraduate and graduate students were interviewed March 5-10.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points.

Eighty-seven percent of students said they spend 10 hours or less a week using computers for academic work, including research. And 12 percent of students surveyed said they spend more than 10 hours a week using computers for academic work.

A vast majority of students, 95 percent, spend 10 hours or less a week using computers for leisure and entertainment purposes. Only 6 percent of students surveyed said they spend more than 10 hours a week using computers for leisure and entertainment purposes.

The survey also found that campus computer labs are the computer labs most often used by students.

Although the survey found that 15 percent of the students surveyed use the Durham Center labs, most students prefer other labs on campus.

“The Durham Center is very time-consuming,” a student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences said. “You have to wait a long time, and I don’t even know how to hook up the computers there to the laser printer.”

On average, 22 percent of ISU students use residence hall computer labs, and 3 percent use greek house computer labs.

A majority of respondents, 88 percent, said they seldom or never have to wait to use a computer.

Although owning a computer is not essential, 57 percent of students surveyed said they do own a computer. Likewise, 71 percent of students surveyed said they do have access to a computer in their room or apartment.

Some students do feel that having a computer in college is a necessity.

“When I was looking at Iowa State, they told me some people didn’t own their own computer and that it was optional to have one,” a senior in animal ecology said. “But now, my view is that it’s almost a necessity.”

Other students think the computers on campus are too slow.

“We need faster computers, updates and new software,” a graduate student in genetics said. “I avoid using Durham because the computers there are very slow. The one I have at home is much quicker.”

In addition, the survey found that 62 percent of ISU students check their e-mail at least once or more a day.

Furthermore, it was found that more than half of ISU students are more comfortable using an IBM or IBM-compatible computer than a Macintosh, while 30 percent said they had no preference.

Most students, 89 percent, said their use of computers has increased since they came to college.

In the area of computer literacy, 95 percent said they consider themselves average, better than average or very knowledgeable.