If you are in college, you most likely have a device on you that will allow for connection to the internet. Phones, tablets, and laptops are now just as important to students as notebooks and pencils, especially if the course requires a digital textbook or if your class is only offered through remote learning. We are living in an age where Wi-Fi is becoming less of a convenience and more of a necessity which is why it is paramount that, as students at Mercer County Community College (MCCC), we have access to reliable Wi-Fi while on campus.
Having faced challenges with the W-Fi myself, I wanted to know if others on campus were having the same problems. In a VOICE survey of 45 students, when asked if they have ever had issues with the school Wi-Fi, 82% answered yes.
The biggest complaints were: 1. The connection dropping and 2. Slow internet speed while using Wi-Fi.
Although not everyone has a problem with the internet it is clear that the majority of Mercer students do. Abraham, a current student at MCCC said “We need a better Wi-Fi option. Make it faster and have better connections.”.
While it is easy to say that Mercer is the problem, there are several factors that make optimal Wi-Fi on campus a challenge.
Having an older device can slow the connection or even cause it to drop completely and not everyone can afford the most up-to-date device. With the high cost of attending college, compounded by rising inflation, upgrading to a faster device is just not an option for everyone. Even though the Wi-Fi is free on campus, the price to use it to its full potential can be very costly.
Another factor that can cause spotty Wi-Fi on campus is its added use for entertainment. It is important to take breaks throughout the day and many students find playing online games or catching up on their favorite Netflix series offers much needed time to relax before their next class. Streaming and online gaming could also play a factor in Mercer’s spotty internet service.
The structures of certain buildings on campus and materials they are made from also could also be contributing to the problem. Having taken classes in most of the buildings on campus, I can say that there are areas on campus which seem to be much worse than others. One Mercer student noted that the “Wi-Fi seems to struggle in the HS building.”
A study was published on October 9 2021 in the Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science Journal (Volume 2 No. 3) titled “WiFi Signal Strength Degradation Over Different Building Materials.” The study found that “[d]ifferent building materials will affect different WiFi signal strength.” While I’m not sure of all the materials used throughout the college, there certainly seems to be a little bit of everything and it’s probably interfering with our Wi-Fi.
There are many factors for MCCC’s spotty connections but at the end of the day, the speed of our campuses network is greatly determined by how much bandwidth is available and ensuring that the access points are spread throughout the campus especially in those areas that have the most interference.
There could be some much needed improvements coming soon.
MCCC has a new Vice President of Information Technology (IT), Inder Singh. This is great news for the college as new leadership can often bring about much needed change. Singh joined the college in March of 2020, during the pandemic.
He told The VOICE in an interview that since the pandemic “we have realigned our IT team to support our student faculty and employees much better. We work very closely with the OneStop Team and we have an IT liaison to support all the students and faculty.”
Singh also told The VOICE, “we are partnering with Cisco and we’re using Cisco technology to upgrade the campus Wi-Fi infrastructure. So that’s already in the works.”
The IT department is aware of the Wi-Fi problems on campus and the plan to upgrade has already started. During the interview, Singh acknowledged, “currently we have a Wi-Fi issue and that’s one of the reasons we are upgrading. Our JKC Campus is already in the process which we are planning to complete by December and then we will start the West Windsor Campus. Our goal is to complete by the time our Spring session ends.”
We look forward to seeing what improvements Inder Singh and his team bring to Mercer. With their current plan in motion, there is hope that we will soon be able to experience the quality of Wi-Fi that will ensure the best possible educational experience for all students on campus.
