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Campuses Expanding Wireless Coverage
9/16/2004
Concerns with Wireless
Administrative concerns over wireless aren't misplaced. Standards are changing rapidly, for one thing. But waiting to jump in or expand your wireless network until standards are completely settled isn't the right approach. "I think that people need to forget about waiting for the perfect standard to come out," says IU's Voss. He suggests that IT administrators accept that wireless equipment has a three-year lifespan and will need to be replaced, and "make an institutional funding stream commitment" to wireless.
Cost, a bigger consideration than ever in IT these days, is actually often a positive when you're weighing wired vs. wireless. Costs have dropped, and it's often easier to install wireless networks. According to Temple University's Silverstone, cost has become a big plus for wireless, rather than a minus, at least for IT professionals. "Infrastructure is not an issue," he says, because "it's absolutely cheaper than wired."
And convincing a university president or board of trustees to spend on wireless these days, Silverstone says, is "a no-brainer." Nearly everyone sees the positive side of the technology, he says, and it will only get better. "I expect that it will be even less of a no-brainer in coming years."
Expanding a wireless network or bumping up to a faster standard needn't mean big costs, concurs Indana's Voss. "These are not huge expenditures," Voss says. "Universities just need to [decide to] spend this money. You can cover two very large campuses for cost of two PeopleSoft consultants for a year. If colleges and universities aren't doing this, they're just crazy."
IU has spent $700,000 total so far on its wireless network. That includes its 1,250 access points ("we got a volume deal," Voss says), initial consulting, and the cost of a project manager for 15 months.
One solution to paying for any technology, including a wireless network and even wireless notebooks for students and faculty, is to assess a fee to cover it. At Winona State University in Minnesota, students are charged a technology fee of $500 a semester. The university, with an enrollment of about 8,000 students, was one of the first "laptop universities" in the nation in 1994. Today, just as at Mayville State, every full-time undergraduate receives a notebook, as do faculty and many staff. (Faculty also pay the technology fee, through the university equipment budget.) The fee covers hardware, software, and support staff, according to J'e Whetstone, vice president of information technology.
As with Winona State, this year the computers are new wireless tablet PCs from Gateway, the school's current supplier. They come loaded and ready to use - a new user simply connects to the network and types in identification. The system connects, configures itself, and is ready to run. The computers are refreshed every two years, so the typical student gets two computers.
Hardware Drives Wireless Success
One of the most compelling aspects of wireless is the new kinds of teaching and learning that it makes possible. We spoke with Whetstone during the first week of classes for the fall semester at Winona State - too soon to fully predict how the new systems will be used. But with 4,000 new convertible tablet notebooks distributed, all of them equipped with both 802.11b and 802.11g access capabilities, the CIO says, "we're seeing a lot of [wireless] activity" already. For one thing, he predicts, "I think we'll see a lot more use in class."
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