The University of Akron is located in the heart of the City of Akron.  UA serves the metropolitan area of Summit, Stark, Cuyahoga, Medina, Portage, and Wayne counties of northeast Ohio.  The UA campus has an annual enrollment in excess of 25,000 students, including graduate enrollment in excess of 4,000.  UA is a publicly assisted urban institution that offers comprehensive programs of instruction; 200 undergraduate majors or areas of study leading to associate or baccalaureate degrees, 69 Masters, 17 doctoral and four professional programs.  IN addition, UA offers several interdisciplinary programs leading towards Ph.D. degrees.  The University is the first one to offer a doctoral program in Engineering Applied Mathematics, which is jointly run by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and by the College of Engineering.  The University also pursues a vigorous agenda of research in the arts, sciences, and professions and provides service to the community.

UA has recognized in its academic master plan, the critical importance of its network infrastructure and Internet connectivity to the education, research, service and outreach missions.  This importance is reflected in its existing network infrastructure (as explained in C.4) as well as its current expansion to a 622 Mbps ATM network and in its membership in the Internet II consortium.  An Internet ID is available for all UA students and can be accessed at any time. In addition, UA provides support to its academic and administrative users.  The University has been recognized for its continued support and development of its Computer Based Education and Testing facilities (CBE & T).  CBE & T's primary mission is to assist faculty in the acquisition, development, and implementation of instructional support software which enhances, enriches and evaluates its instructional activities.  In addition, UA collaborated with Kent State University and Case Western Reserve University to form a consortium, which was awarded an NSF Science and Technology Center for Advanced Liquid Crystal Optical Materials (ALCOM)—the only NSF STC in Ohio.

UA has a policy of continuing the development and maintenance of its current and new technologies that support the University's instructional, research and service components in achieving its academic and institutional mission.