Fullerton College students, faculty and staff seeking to use Wi-Fi on campus this last week may have noticed changes being rolled out by the college. The previous campus wireless networks are being phased out and replaced by a new set to accommodate the amount of students returning to campus.
The networks being discontinued are FC STAFF, FC PUBLIC and FC STUDENT. The new networks are labeled EMPLOYEE, STUDENT and GUEST.
Academic Computing Technologies made an announcement earlier in the week, with sources at ACT telling The Hornet that this is in order to provide greater wireless access to the campus community.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, students and faculty transitioned to mostly online or hybrid classes. While some students came to the college to use Wi-Fi, most were completing their work off campus.
With over 50% of classes back in person, the fall 2022 semester has created a surge in users seeking to utilize the wireless networks on laptops and phones in classrooms and outdoors on campus.
Sources at ACT explained that this higher volume of usage slows wireless service, as all the devices are sharing the bandwidth.
The new networks have a stronger signal with more bandwidth. There will be more access points added to various areas of the campus, but they will also confine the signal closer to campus than the earlier networks.
Fullerton College ACT lab aide Ryan Reynolds said that the new sign-on for the STUDENT network should not be a problem, “If a student is new to this campus, they just have to sign in the first time to set up their account to use.”
To sign in, employees and students should select the appropriate network, and then use their email account username (such as [email protected] for employees, or [email protected] for students) and the password associated with their Fullerton College email address. If prompted by your device, click “Trust Certificate.”
Linda Allen, a student since 2019, adjusted to the change this week. “I had problems early this week. Today has been just fine.” she said. Allen is enrolled in both on-campus and online classes, and needed the Wi-Fi to complete research. Using a laptop on loan from the college, Allen did not experience difficulty logging in via the new student network.
For students, faculty, or staff needing assistance, the ACT Help desk is available Monday through Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m, Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m, and Saturday 8 a.m.to 3 p.m, in room 517. ACT may also be reached at (714) 992-7111.