Sick and wired
By: Paladin Editorial Staff
Issue date: 11/13/09 Section: Opinions
Last year, for the first time, Furman's Computing and Information Services division surveyed students and faculty on their experiences with campus information technology services. The results were clear: three out of every four student respondents selected wireless or internet coverage and reliability as the number one area for improvement.
The 2009 survey closed last Friday, and though the results have not yet been made public, we have no reason to expect that student frustrations with the continued lack of wireless coverage in the residence buildings have been allayed. In this age, as the internet becomes necessary to ever more aspects of students' personal lives and academic endeavors, we can no longer afford to treat campus-wide wireless connectivity as a luxury, to be reconsidered when discretionary resources allow. This University will not become the institution it aspires to be - nor attract the students it would most like to have - until it ensures reliable wireless coverage for all students.
The need for wireless connectivity is not lost on this administration. The TechQual survey results clearly indicated student dissatisfaction on the issue, and made it impossible to deny that Furman will eventually need to install complete wireless coverage in order to keep up with our peers and to successfully fulfill our mission in a technology-based economy. But it is clear that, at least for those responsible for the financial management of the university, wireless connectivity loses its luster when long-term planning translates into immediate budget prioritization.
The plans that C&IS is currently considering would require a significant material commitment. While the current economic environment has led to the postponement of other major capital projects, we strongly believe that wireless access is necessary to the mission of this University, and should not be considered just another item on the student wish list. It is surely tempting to defer the installation of a wireless system to a brighter fiscal future, perhaps to be taken incrementally as the University restores the residence halls, but students should not have to wait another ten years for a reliable wireless connection.
It would be nice to watch YouTube videos or surf the net in our beds and living rooms but campus-wide wireless coverage would also facilitate studying, in particular the sort of online collaboration and group work that current infrastructure makes nearly impossible. Prospective and incoming students expect wireless coverage - not an unrealistic expectation in this age, and one that is met by most selective higher learning institutions. For a university that so values engaged learning, it is too bad that Furman has not made more efforts to meet this need. For all of these reasons, we strongly encourage Furman to make campus-wide wireless coverage its primary capital improvement priority.
The 2009 survey closed last Friday, and though the results have not yet been made public, we have no reason to expect that student frustrations with the continued lack of wireless coverage in the residence buildings have been allayed. In this age, as the internet becomes necessary to ever more aspects of students' personal lives and academic endeavors, we can no longer afford to treat campus-wide wireless connectivity as a luxury, to be reconsidered when discretionary resources allow. This University will not become the institution it aspires to be - nor attract the students it would most like to have - until it ensures reliable wireless coverage for all students.
The need for wireless connectivity is not lost on this administration. The TechQual survey results clearly indicated student dissatisfaction on the issue, and made it impossible to deny that Furman will eventually need to install complete wireless coverage in order to keep up with our peers and to successfully fulfill our mission in a technology-based economy. But it is clear that, at least for those responsible for the financial management of the university, wireless connectivity loses its luster when long-term planning translates into immediate budget prioritization.
The plans that C&IS is currently considering would require a significant material commitment. While the current economic environment has led to the postponement of other major capital projects, we strongly believe that wireless access is necessary to the mission of this University, and should not be considered just another item on the student wish list. It is surely tempting to defer the installation of a wireless system to a brighter fiscal future, perhaps to be taken incrementally as the University restores the residence halls, but students should not have to wait another ten years for a reliable wireless connection.
It would be nice to watch YouTube videos or surf the net in our beds and living rooms but campus-wide wireless coverage would also facilitate studying, in particular the sort of online collaboration and group work that current infrastructure makes nearly impossible. Prospective and incoming students expect wireless coverage - not an unrealistic expectation in this age, and one that is met by most selective higher learning institutions. For a university that so values engaged learning, it is too bad that Furman has not made more efforts to meet this need. For all of these reasons, we strongly encourage Furman to make campus-wide wireless coverage its primary capital improvement priority.