Most OUHK students are ready to use information technology in their studies, according to a recent survey conducted by the University.

A questionnaire was mailed to 12,000 active students randomly selected by computer in December 1998. There were altogether 1,800 valid returns, which represented a response rate of 15 per cent.

Eighty per cent of the respondents said they were likely or very likely to choose to study the course materials electronically if an electronic version was accessible online, or available in the form of a CD-ROM. A similar number of respondents also indicated that they would communicate with the University, tutors and fellow students, as well as submit their assignments electronically. An even larger number (87 per cent) of respondents said that they would access the OUHK's website to obtain information about courses if such information was provided there, while slightly fewer (69 per cent) said they would join online and/or offline discussions between Course Coordinators, tutors and fellow students.

Nearly 88 per cent of the respondents had a computer at home, 77 per cent had a Pentium PC, 91 per cent had a CD-ROM drive connected to their PCs and 86 per cent had a sound card installed. Among those who had a modem (81 per cent), 91 per cent had a modem with a speed of 28.8K or above. Even among those who didnÕt have any access to the Internet (19 per cent), 77 per cent said they planned to do so within six months.