The SecurEdge Blog

The higher education IT landscape is constantly changing, especially when you’re focusing on Wi-Fi and networking. What used to be fairly straightforward, is no longer simple or one size fits all. College and University campuses are among the most demanding wireless environments in existence today.

When you think about the 2,827 public and private, four-year degree granting education institutions in the United States, that’s a lot of students, faculty, and staff! To be more precise, there are 19.9 million students attending American colleges and universities.

In this space, we have talked previously about the many challenges that come with providing WiFi on college campuses. Students live, learn, and play on campus, but they aren’t necessarily doing all three of those things at the same time and in the same place. That’s why college campuses require multiple types of WiFi designs, making them especially tricky.

Bright lights, fried food- an accompaniment to the cacophony of feet pounding on metal bleachers, the base of a wild symphony; whoops, awwws and cheers the melody, a rhythmic clapping keeping time. Whether you’re in the middle of the action or cheering from the living room, there is nothing quite as electric, as unifying, as emotional, as live sports. Football, soccer, tennis, baseball, little league or pro team, when you’re team is up, you’re a part of the experience.

College: where young minds are molded and future leaders are born. Over 20 million students will head to class this fall with laptops and devices in tow, ready for long hours spent in lecture halls and libraries and expecting lightning fast WiFi to get the job (and the occasional internet-browsing procrastination) done.

Whether it's for employees, students, guests or customers, having a secure and reliable wireless internet connection is becoming more and more a standard of quality to which a building or enterprise is measured.  

If you’re considering partnering with a company that provides managed network services—or you already have—what precisely would they be doing, and what kind of value would it bring to your business?

Retention and recruitment are more than just alliterative buzzwords for college and university leaders. Combined, they are the lifeblood of a school’s long-term success and survival. And many higher-ed leaders are realizing that technology (WiFi included) is not only becoming a mission-critical service but also the special sauce that makes their campus experience stand out from other schools, delighting students and bolstering retention and recruitment efforts.