ITC officials began an online survey last Friday in an effort to gauge student support for a subscription download music and video service at the University.
ITC will operate the online survey until Oct. 4.
The survey comes as other universities have worked increasingly to stem illegal downloading on campus networks by providing students with free or low-cost methods to obtain media for free.
The George Washington University provides free Napster service to its students, while Duke University gave its incoming freshmen complimentary iPods this fall.
A working committee at the University has been investigating file-sharing options for some time, but student feedback will be the deciding factor on its implementation, said Chris Husser, technology coordinator for student activities.
"By first assessing student input, we can then make the best choices regarding our financial commitment to taking on new services," Husser said.
If the University opts to provide an online downloading service, it potentially could be implemented in time for the spring or fall 2005 semesters, according to the ITC Web site.
Husser added that he is intrigued by the potential academic uses of downloading.
"From downloading political speeches for class, to including music samples of the University's own a cappella groups, there can be much academic and social benefit derived by students," he said.
The 10 questions on the survey address both a student's current usage style and what their preferences would be if they were offered a voluntary subscriber service. Questions address the issues of streaming media files for free, paying a small fee for downloads and offline CD burning and billing methods.
Individual subscriptions to a downloading service would most likely be similar to that of ITC's cable television options, charged on a semester or yearly basis.
Terry Lockard, ITC director of computing support services, said she looks forward to seeing the future expansion of downloading contribute to greater achievement of the University's academic mission.
"Although this will take a lot of time and energy to implement, I would love to see this legal alternative considered," she said. "What's most important to me is finding out what interests students."
Students can access the downloading survey from the ITC Web site.
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