These days, colleges and universities are ranked by somebody according to just about any set of criteria you can think of -- everything from academics to value for the dollar to partying.

And while there is a vigorous debate about the value of some ranking schemes, there is no shortage of interest when a new one comes out, especially when it relates to a serious measurement.

The Roanoke Valley's Hollins University is happy to be receiving national attention this week by coming in eighth in a new list of the "Top 20 Wired Colleges," compiled by PC Magazine and The Princeton Review.

"It's an incredible honor to be spoken of in the same breath as the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology," Carol Reed, Hollins' chief information officer, said Thursday.

Hollins was ranked higher than all those much-larger and better-known universities in the listing that will be published in the Sept. 16 edition of PC Magazine.

"We have a very small staff, only nine folks on the IT [information technology] staff," said Reed, whom she credited with making the recognition possible.

PC Magazine provided a list of technology-related questions for The Princeton Review to include in its evaluation of "The Best 368 Colleges" of 2008. PC Magazine then reviewed the tech responses to come up with its own list.

The magazine said it looked at the academic offerings related to technology and presented via technology, the prevalence of hardware and software on campus, WiFi and other computer infrastructure, and technical support for students and teachers.

Hollins sophomore Jenn Bedsaul of Newport News said the university's technological sophistication helped draw her to the school, where she is majoring in biochemistry and biology.

She was impressed from her first tour, she said, with the up-to-date computer technology and its widespread availability. WiFi access is accessible everywhere on the university campus, including the outdoor quads.

Communicating with professors via e-mail or instant messaging "makes it very easy for students, rather than having to walk across campus 20 times" to get an answer, she said.

"Our students today are exposed to so much technology as part of their upbringing ... that if universities and colleges don't have that technology when they come in the door, they feel like they've gone back in time," Reed said.

"We want students -- especially incoming freshmen -- to be able to have that experience of being able to stay in touch with friends and family, and not feeling alone" when they first arrive on campus.

And, especially since the Virginia Tech shootings, information technology has played a growing role in student security. Hollins has an emergency text-messaging system, Smart Card keyless entry to dorms, and campuswide alarms.

"It seems like technology is such an ingrained part of everything we do," Reed said, and a facet of campus life that is expanding all the time.

In coming months, for instance, students -- and their parents -- will be able to pay bills online any time of day or night, any day of the week.