"We started that back in 1993," says Andrew Svec, University of Minnesota, Crookston's director of communications. "We're widely recognized as the first college in the world, probably, to provide every single student and faculty member with a notebook computer. "It's really changed the environment."

Prior to 1992, the University of Minnesota, Crookston was known mainly as an agriculture school. Its reputation was built on its high quality programs in equine sciences. But the outlook was bleak for the Crookston campus in the early 1990s. At a time when the University of Minnesota system was looking at major changes and places to cut costs, Crookston faced major cutbacks or possible closing. The campus needed to refocus its mission.

"Even in 1992, it became apparent there was a lack of computer literacy in the work force," says Crookston Chancellor Don Sargeant. He says the school turned to the community for guidance.

"Employers really could see the need for more computer literacy in everyone that they hired. And they always felt that the college graduate that didn't have work experience was not going to be good as the college graduate that had work experience," says Sargeant.

Sargeant says administrators decided UMC would continue to offer classes in traditional fields like agriculture, math, English and speech. But they decided to place new emphasis on learning through the use of computer skills. School officials negotiated a deal with IBM to supply top-of-the-line laptops each year with up-to-date software.

The entire campus took on a new look and feel. In the era before laptops, classes were taught with lectures, overhead projectors and other methods developed decades ago. Today, students walk into a classroom, pull out a laptop and log onto the Internet. Instructors use Power Point presentations, post lectures on Web sites, and require students to do research on the World Wide Web.

All the classrooms on campus are wired to the Internet, and 80 percent of the classrooms have an Internet hookup for every seat. All the residence halls have Internet connections. The abundance of connections means students aren't limited to using their laptops in the classroom. They're mobile.

The overhaul of the Crookston campus has made the school more attractive to a wider array of students. Traditionally, the school has drawn students from the Red River Valley. But now Crookston is enrolling more and more students from the Twin Cities, St. Cloud and beyond.

Cameron Bauer, a sophomore majoring in Information Network Management, is from Ellendale, near the border of North and South Dakota. He says the education he is receiving will help him develop the skills he'll need to get a good job, and allow him to remain close to his home.

"I can sit at home in the middle of nowhere, with a satellite connection to the Internet, and do what I want to do. In the future I can work on Web sites and marketing right from my home in the middle of the country. I think that's the future," says Bauer.

Like the rest of the University of Minnesota system, the Crookston campus is vulnerable to budget cuts. Enrollment at Crookston is at an all-time high. Total enrollment is 2,200, with 1,750 of those students living on campus. More and more students from outside the region, from places like California and Florida, are discovering the school. There are even plans to build a new dorm to accommodate the new students. Today, no one is talking about closing the University of Minnesota, Crookston.