For the third straight year, Walters State Community College has been selected as one of the most technologically advanced community colleges in the country.

Walters State is tied for the No. 4 spot among mid-sized colleges (between 3,000 and 7,500 students) on the national Digital Community Colleges Survey conducted by the Center for Digital Education and "Converge" magazine. The survey was based on areas of technology ranging from online admissions, student access to transcripts and grades, information security and infrastructure, to weather and campus security alerts and online library capabilities.

Sharing the No. 4 spot with Walters State is Rappahannock Community College of Warsaw, Va.

"Walters State's innovative use of technology is driven by our mission to increase access to higher education for individuals living in our area," said Walters State president Dr. Wade B. McCamey.

"This national recognition is a credit to the technological expertise and resourcefulness exhibited by our employees, especially our faculty who teach online courses and the individuals who work in our information and education technologies department," McCamey also said.     

From registering for classes to online class discussions to checking grades, Walters State students are exposed to an online component in nearly every aspect of their education. The college offers Web-based courses in which students can complete all of the coursework via the Internet as well as hybrid courses, which combine traditional "on-ground" teaching and online services.

Walters State also utilizes live video streaming, allowing the college to broadcast a class taught at one campus site to all of its locations. Students participating in such courses can interact with their instructor and classmates via the Internet and can even watch a taped version of every class through video on demand.

Technology is also prevalent in the classroom at Walters State, with over 30 rooms equipped with interactive "SMART" media. Wireless Internet access is available throughout all campus sites and 35 computer labs are maintained for student use.

Walters State students have access to the library's 85 online databases containing 100,000 books and over 3 million journal articles. Students can also check out a laptop computer at the library. During the past year, Walters State has also adopted social networking as a primary communication tool.

"Our goal is to enhance continuously the technological infrastructure in support of the college's efforts to provide students with the best educational experience possible," said Joe Sargent, interim executive director for information and education technologies.

The Center for Digital Education is a national research and advisory institute providing education and industry leaders with decision support, research and educational services to help them effectively incorporate new technologies in the 21st century.