This project would fund a micro computer classroom/laboratory dedicated to economics, statistics and quantitative methods, class support and student research. The economics and statistics department currently relies on the campus mainframe computers (Cyber) and standard academic software (Minitab, SPSS) for course projects in business statistics and uses programs written by faculty for pedagogical support in economic theory courses. This environment is not easy for undergraduates to deal with and is not typical of the situation they will work in after graduation. Further, the quantitative and statistical software being developed for business today is designed for the stand alone desktop environment. Micro computers will be significantly more "user friendly" and will permit the faculty to concentrate their instruction on the theory and techniques of the subject matter without having to teach the student how to use the computer.
