Waynesburg University’s Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) began testing a new Wi-Fi network with residents of Willison Hall this week.

While campus community and academic buildings are currently equipped with wireless internet, residence halls have, until now, lacked university-provided Wi-Fi. The test in Willison is a precursor to rolling out the new wireless network for the rest of campus, according to Bill Dumire, vice president for ITS and chief information officer.

“At the end of the testing, which we estimate should take about two weeks, we’ll send out an anonymous survey that the students can then report back on and provide any input or feedback they have,” said Dumire. “Then, we’ll take a look at that and make any tweaks that we can and then we’ll plan to follow up and see if we’re going to roll out before commencement or we’ll wait until after commencement.”

That decision, said Dumire, is based on whether rolling out the new network would interfere with or add extra stress to students in the days before Finals Week.

Once the university wireless network is established in residence halls, students will not be permitted to have their own personal Wi-Fi access points.

“That really is to benefit the students, because any sort of personal wireless access point that they would install could be operating in the same bandwidth as the university’s, and it will cause congestion,” said Dumire.

This congestion would lead to significantly slower internet speed, which Dumire is keen to avoid. In fact, Dumire said one of the chief benefits of university-wide Wi-Fi will be increased speed, along with coverage across the entire campus. Testing the network in Willison is partially intended to test that speed.

“I’m hoping for the most part that testing is just a formality – that students will find that coverage is greatly enhanced, that speeds are greatly enhanced, and that we’ll really make it worth their while to disconnect their personal devices and connect to the university’s [Wi-Fi],” said Dumire.

According to an email Dumire sent to Willison residents to notify them of the wireless network test, ITS will perform security scans to ensure personal wireless access points are not in use.

Also prohibited on the new wireless network will be devices such as Smart TVs, gaming consoles, Smart BluRay/DVD players and similar devices, which will not be supported on the wireless network.

While Dumire expects some students may have concerns about this, he emphasized that wired internet connections will still be available in all dorms so that such devices can be hooked up with via Ethernet cables.

“A number of devices are really not best equipped to operate on the wireless network, especially game systems,” said Dumire. “If you’ve got [internet], it really is better to connect the device, especially with download speeds now.”

Devices without Ethernet ports can still be hooked up to wired internet if students purchase an Ethernet adapter.

The Willison test also provides a chance to find out whether students have issues registering their devices on the wireless network, which will be a new requirement. Students will be permitted to register three personal devices on the network, which may be a combination of mobile devices, tablets, laptops or wireless-enabled desktops. Students can take their devices to the ITS Help Desk in the Wiley Armory for assistance registering their devices, or they can register devices themselves using instructions under the Help tab on myConnect.

The three-device limit, according to Dumire, is due to the cost associated with licensing each registered device.

“Every device that connects to the network, there is a license that has to be paid,” he said. “We sort of balanced it and said, okay, this is going to be the cost for licensing, and this is going to be what most students will be using it for. That’s where we came up with the three device limit.”

Registering devices also promotes the enhanced security that the new system features. By working with Cisco, a networking software company, Dumire said the latest in security technology has been applied.

In fact, Cisco and other outside vendors have been working with Waynesburg ITS for the last year to assess every building on campus and create full wireless internet coverage.

“This is meant to be a secure, stable network that will follow the student from the dorm to the classroom and back,” said Dumire.

Dumire said the university is increasing from about 30 wireless access points to nearly 300. He believes the shift to university-provided, campus-wide Wi-Fi will be very beneficial for students, not only because of technical advantages, but also because a university-supported system means ITS is fully committed to troubleshooting the wireless network, as opposed to students’ personal wireless access points.