Ok, help me out on this

My daughter will need a decent camera for her Art course at school. She will be using it on and off for 2-1/2 years.
I was planning to look for something when I am over for SB.
Is there any real need to go for SLR now?

With this Canon, for example, am I right that the wide angle + 5x zoom is effectively the same as and old fashioned 28-300mm lens (assuming body had a 60mm standard lens).

She doesnt need something costing hundreds and hundreds, but better than the regular $100 ones and with proper optical rather than digital zoom.