With a single American college stating the iPhone or the iPod a required device for attending its school, one would think the U.S. media had just reported that any incoming freshman to secondary school was going to be suspended if they are not a “Mac” person.

Recently reported, the University of Missouri School of Journalism is requiring new students to have either an iPod or an iPhone for access to the iTunes University and other downloadable applications required for new students.

 photo credit: AlwaysSecondBest

And this technology requirement is in addition to the university requirement of a WiFi enabled laptop device. While purportedly 99% of the students have Apple laptops (a number in high disregard), PC based portable computers are not forbidden.

According to FAQ’s at the school web site, when it comes to operating a PC, “That’s an option, but it’s one we do not recommend…By the time you purchase photo, audio and video software for a PC, you probably will have spent more than you would if buying a comparable Apple Computer.”

Clearly no one in that school has any indication that there is a world of free software out there which will be more than applicable for most applications these students could use. It is apparently more advantageous to someone along the supply chain to make such sweeping statements which have obviously culminated in university wide edicts that a specific platform is a required device.

What is more interesting however, is the media coverage of this announcement. Simply scanning the headlines would lead one to believe that suddenly Apple has penetrated the vaulted halls of post secondary education and their platforms will now be required for any and all educational pursuits.

Forget the fact that nearly 8 out of 10 computer users currently employ some device that is not manufactured by Apple Computers. Forget about the fact that there are literally millions of free or low cost applications available for use on PC based computers. The simple act of one institution is enough to emblazon headlines anointing the fact that Mac is a winner and PC users are losers.

With a little digging, however, it has been revealed there are at least 50 other institutions in the U.S. that actually require the Apple based hardware / software solutions. Apparently, this is the growing trend in educational requirements.

In an interesting report the associate dean of the journalism school implied that while the equipment was on the required list, the “requirements” to own the devices wouldn’t be enforced. His indications were that they simply added that language so college students would be able to use financial aid monies to pay for their purchase.

This fact has stirred up a decent amount of headlines at various technology and education websites and blogs. The biggest argument against the “required” status is that the federal government, in effect is sanctioning the financing of music and phone devices.

Clearly, however, the capabilities associated with an iPhone far exceed the simple act of making a phone call or listening to music in the quad. From the perspective of the journalism school, it is easy to see the value of ensuring new professionals in the field of news reporting understand how to use the tools of the industry. One can clearly imagine that since an extremely high percentage of creative professionals use Macintosh based products, the chances are high that the same exists in the world of news reporting.

We are also seeing the gradual evolution of the newspaper industry, such that more of the consumption of news is taking place on such devices. Perhaps the generation and delivery of the news also take place on small, portable devices?