The computer world has pretty much reinvented itself since Dr. Jon Rickman earned his Ph.D. in computer science more than 30 years ago.

But the vice president of information systems at Northwest Missouri State University has stayed on top of his game, literally.

Dr. Rickman was behind Northwest becoming the first electronic campus in the U.S. in 1987. He’s also the guiding force behind Northwest’s distinction as a “laptop campus,” which launched in 2005 and gave every student living on campus a Gateway laptop computer.

Beginning this semester, every full-time student at Northwest receives a new Hewlett-Packard laptop. Part-time students receive the refurbished Gateway computers.

“There is a very high level of excitement from the students,” Dr. Rickman said.

About 6,000 new laptops arrived on campus this summer. Computing staffers scurried to transfer software onto the machines before students arrived for fall semester courses Monday.

About 3,000 of the new computers were handed out to students over a two-day period last week at the Electronic Campus Support Center, which recently was named in honor of Dr. Rickman for his 30-plus years of service at Northwest.

The laptop program is funded through students who pay a $10 per credit hour technology fee. Students also pay a $6 per credit hour textbook rental fee, which Northwest officials say saves students hundreds of dollars. The two combined are a useful marketing tool in recruiting new students.

“I think it’s one thing that the parents really appreciate,” Dr. Rickman said, mentioning that if the computer malfunctions, there is a trained support staff on campus that can usually solve the problem within 15 minutes.

The laptop campus idea is still a novelty at public institutions. Dr. Rickman said he didn’t know of another laptop campus in the four-state region.

Asked what he has planned for the future, Dr. Rickman tries to remain tight-lipped. However, electronic textbooks seem to be of interest to him and other Northwest officials, including Dr. Dean Hubbard, president.

“It’s not going to happen over night, but there has been a lot of movement in that directions,” Dr. Rickman said of new technologies moving away from the traditional textbooks.

Jimmy Myers can be reached

at jimmym@npgco.com