Looks like students wont’ just be attending Aoyama Gakuin University in Japan for its great curriculum. The big wigs of Aoyama Gakuin University has embraced a new way of tracking their students, literally.

Recently, the faculty has provided for free Apple iPhone 3Gs to the 550 students and staff of their School of Social Informatics. This will enable them to see if the students and staff are within the school premises and prevents them from cheating during roll calls thanks to the built-in GPS feature of the iPhone. This is made possible with a tie-up with iPhone provider Softbank Mobile Corp. as part of the companies project entitled “Mobile & Net Society Education and Training.” Aoyama Gakuin University pays of the basic charge and does not pass any extra financial stress to its students.

Though still in its experimentatl stage, Aoyama Gakuin University hopes to bring this new method in full throttle by Autumn. To totally take advantage of the iPhone, the school plans to roll out test questions, homework submissions, viewing video courses, digital lectures and other university-related functions. It seems that Aoyama Gakuin University is pushing the iPhone and technology to its advantage.

Aoyama Gakuin University has taken this program so seriously that they even launched a program to design and develop original iPhone applications for the iPhone AppStore.

SOURCES: ENGADGET, MAINICHI DAILY NEWS, IBLAST, DVICE