The fall is approaching and students, ready for another year, are beginning to make their way back to campus. Some changes have been made while students were away, most notably new buildings like Devon Energy Hall, ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility and the new addition to Gaylord College.

However, OU’s Information Technology Department has been working hard behind the scenes, in the less noticeable areas of older buildings, to improve the quality of the university’s computer labs.

Computer labs are an invaluable resource for students, which provide many different services to aid in the academic success of OU students.

OU IT spokesman Nicholas Key said 140 machines were replaced with better processors and the inclusion of 19 inch flat-screen monitors.

Key said only one computer lab, located on the second floor of the Union in Beard Lounge, underwent significant remodeling in preparation of its reopening during the fall semester.

To accommodate both the stop-and-go users and the permanent lab-dwellers, the IT department created a lab that meets both groups’ needs.

Key said because the computer lab in Beard lounge is a such a long room, they wanted to divide it into two separate areas. The northwest wall of the lab will be comprised of quick stop stations, split evenly between PC and Mac, and will provide the services of those who merely need to print their work and be on their way.

“The opposite side is for those who work longer in the labs,” Key said. “For them we’ve added more comfortable furniture, outlets to charge iPods or cell phones, dual monitors and extra desk-top space for spreading out your study materials.”

The Beard Lounge computer lab is the result of an OU IT survey done last year, in which 1,300 students responded as to why and how they use the labs.

OU senior Jake Martin said he was surprised at the success of the survey because he figured they usually didn’t hold much weight, and at least not as effectively.

The results from the survey were used to assess the student’s usage of the university’s computer labs.

“We found that a large group of students use the labs for printing only,” Key said. “This group consisted of about 40 percent of those surveyed.”

Key said the other large percentage of students in the survey spent a good majority of their time in the lab, whether it is because they do not own a computer or they commute from long distance and it is more convenient to just get their work done while on campus.

According to Key, the creation of more space allows for students to spread out and feel more comfortable, and it also encourages collaboration on group projects with movable stools so others may work together, yet still maintaining their privacy.

“The biggest improvement is comfort,” Key said. “Studying can be stressful, so we want students to feel like they have a comfortable, relaxing place to work.”

Key said the reason they are renovating the labs one at a time is that they hope to use this as a proto-type that will help improve the design before moving on to the rest of the labs on campus.