Virtual U

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to run your own university? Here's your chance to test your skills and knowledge as you become the university's president. The player will gain a better understanding of management practices in our colleges and universities.

Virtual U was developed by William Massy, among others, of the Jackson Hole Higher Education Group and Enlight Software of Hong Kong.

The player will need to take the time, possibly several hours, to learn the simulation. There are very complex ideas being presented, possibly for the first time. He/she will have to make many decisions that could help or hurt their university. Therefore, take the time to learn the tricks of the job. Easier said than done!

Below are some presidential tasks:
•Customize your institution
•Evalution and outlines priorities
•Your instituation and critical ratings
•The student newspaper alerts you to special events
•Individual faculty screen
•Look at a range of faculty attributes to pinpoint places for improvement
•Look at department rankings to see where to focus on improving your university
•Monitor your faculty's satisfaction and diversity
•Budget information screens
•Check out your admission results and student population
•Direct your faculty by defining how they prioritize their time
•The Virtual U campus screen
•Monitor your capital reserves
•Another campus screen. Note how buildings will be different depending on the types of departments your university features.
•Design the class structures a department offers
•Determine your university's endowment investment strategy
•Your virtual university always features a football stadium and basketball arena
•How will you allocate alumni contributions?
•Set your athletic policies and build a winning sports department

Virtual U can be used in the classroom, student competitions, and distance education. This simulation could be extremely useful for those who plan to go into administration. It is also being used by undergraduate and graduate business, finance, and accounting classes.

The downfall, in my eyes, is that Virtual U is not available for the Macintosh. So all you PC users try it out and see what you think.