University requires students to buy an iPhone or similar device

COLUMBIA, Missouri -- Gadgets such as the Apple iPhone and the iPod Touch are mainstays on college campuses — largely for the devices' ability to help students escape the pressures of the classroom.

Now the oldest U.S. journalism school is asking students to buy those or similar devices to download classroom lectures or confirm facts on the Web while reporting from the scene of a plane crash or town council meeting.

The new rule for incoming freshmen at the University of Missouri School of Journalism appears to mark the first time an American university is requiring specific portable electronic devices. The policy has spurred a debate about the limits and possibilities of technology as well as corporate influence in academia.

Skeptics say the school is getting too cozy with Apple, though administrators point out that they earn no financial benefit from the new policy. The university gets a 10% discount on Apple computers it buys, but other vendors such as Dell and Hewlett-Packard offer the same deal.

"It's like asking an engineer to buy a calculator," said Brian Brooks, associate dean for undergraduate studies. "We are doing this requirement solely to benefit our students' learning."

A description about the program on the school's website notes that "at least 50 colleges and universities nationwide make use of iPods in their programs." But it's not clear that any of those schools make it mandatory — and at student expense. Private colleges such as Duke and Abilene Christian have given the devices out for free.

Brooks points out that an estimated 85% to 90% of the university's 30,200 undergraduates already own portable music players, with 85% of those devices being iPods.

Even so, graduating senior Maureen Scarpelli — an admitted Apple disciple — questions the school's endorsement of a particular product.

After similar complaints, the school clarified that it is requiring any Web-enabled, audio-video player like the iPhone or the iPod Touch, which is like an iPhone without the phone. So portable devices such as a Microsoft Zune or smart phones such as BlackBerrys can be acceptable. Just not preferred.