Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Soon Internet users in residence halls will have a little more freedom to move around. Information Services plans to install wireless Internet access points in the main lobbies and some common areas of all residence halls by Oct. 31.
Photo illustration by Chance Dibben
Information Services plans to install wireless Internet access in many parts of the residence halls by Oct. 31. It is the first of three phases to provide full wireless Internet access in all residence halls.
• Kansas State University provides wireless Internet in all residence halls.
• The University of Missouri provides wireless Internet in limited locations, including common areas on each floor. Wireless access is not available in individual rooms.
• Texas Tech University provides wireless Internet in residence hall lobbies but not in individual rooms.
• Texas A&M University provides wireless Internet only in honors residence hall. Texas A&M is planning to become fully wireless by 2012.
• Iowa State University provides wireless Internet in residence hall lobbies and is planning to expand wireless access to individual rooms by Fall 2009.
• The University of Colorado provides wireless Internet access in some residence halls.
• The University of Nebraska provides wireless Internet access in some residence halls and is planning to expand wireless coverage to all residence halls by Fall 2010.
• Baylor University provides wireless Internet access in common areas of residence halls, but not in individual rooms.
• Oklahoma State University provides wireless access in all residence halls.
• The University of Oklahoma provides wireless Internet in some residence halls and is in the process of becoming fully wireless.
• The University of Texas provides wireless Internet access in all residence halls, but not every room has strong wireless coverage.
—Source: individual Big 12 universities
“My assumption is students would love to have it in all places,” said Diana Robertson, director of the Department of Student Housing. “Our intent is to work to that goal.” The addition of wireless access points to residence hall lobbies is the first of three phases of Information Services’ plan to provide wireless Internet access in all residence halls, Robertson said. At the request of the donor, Carl C. Krehbiel, the Floyd H. and Kathryn Krehbiel Scholarship Hall will have wireless Internet installed as well.
Robertson said Information Services was working to get estimates for the cost of phase two, which would provide wireless coverage in all scholarship halls, residence hall floor lobbies and conference rooms. If approved, the third and final phase would add enough access points to give all individual rooms in the residence halls wireless Internet access, Robertson said. She said Information Services and the Department of Student Housing didn’t know how much installing wireless would cost or how it would be funded.
These areas are scheduled to have wireless Internet access by Oct. 31. Bill Myers, director of assessment and outreach for Information Services, said no specific plans had been made for expanding coverage beyond these areas.
McCollum Hall: Second floor lobby area
Ellsworth Hall: Third floor lobby area
Hashinger Hall: Fourth, sixth and eighth floor lobby areas
Templin Hall: Second, fourth and sixth floor lobby areas
Lewis Hall: Second floor common area and conference rooms 224 and 228
GSP-Corbin Hall: Lobby area
Oliver Hall: Living room
Robertson said most scholarship halls needed structural and rewiring improvements to support wireless Internet.
She said security had been her main concern in developing a wireless network in the residence halls.
“What I didn’t want was to set up a system that wasn’t secure,” Robertson said. “Because if you’re in the building, online, you assume your access is good.”
Bill Myers, director of assessment and outreach for Information Services, said funding the wireless improvements to the residence halls would be a challenge. Robertson said one option for funding the expansion would be to charge students living in the residence halls a technology fee in addition to the $98.45 fee students paid for ResNet this semester. But she said one problem with this option was that students who paid the fee in the next few years might not have wireless Internet access because not enough fees would have accumulated by the time they moved out.
Information Services proposed a fee like this last year, but the Student Housing Advisory Board voted it down, requesting that ResNet make stronger plans for how they would use the fee to improve wireless access in residence halls.
“Any time we take the next step, we want to make sure we’re doing the right things to meet students’ needs at that time,” Robertson said. “We’re thrilled we’re getting it into the lobbies at this point.”
All of the Big 12 schools provide some wireless access in residence halls. Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University are the only two that have completely wireless residence halls.
Natalie Kolega, Shawnee sophomore, lives in Hashinger Hall. Kolega said she didn’t mind not having wireless Internet access because she usually went off-campus to study. As for an additional technology fee, Kolega said she would pay if it was a relatively low fee, but it wasn’t worth it to pay a lot for a service she might never use.
“It’s like people who are paying for free buses in their fees who don’t ride the bus,” Kolega said. “I think it’s the same concept.”
Kolega said she would support using the current ResNet fees to fund improvements to the wireless Internet coverage in residence halls.
But for now, Robertson said installing wireless in the large lobbies of residence halls would give students a lot more flexibility in Internet access.
— — Edited by Becka Cremer
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Comments
Wireless Internet hits residence halls
I had a question as to why is it that all the scholarship halls are not included in the wireless internet access setup? It would be great to have them here.
Wireless Internet hits residence halls
"...the Floyd H. and Kathryn Krehbiel Scholarship Hall will have wireless Internet installed as well."
"Robertson said Information Services was working to get estimates for the cost of phase two, which would provide wireless coverage in all scholarship halls..."
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