MEMORANDUM

To:                   Dr. Cynthia Macri

From:              Kaylee Nichols

Date:               February 10, 2011

Re:                  Proposal for Final Project

By completing this memorandum, I seek permission to write my Writing 465 Project on the feasibility of improving the WiFi availability in campus residence halls so that all students living on campus will have WiFi access in their rooms.  As a student who has lived on campus for two and a half years, the lack of WiFi availability in rooms has been one of my very few complaints. This proposal will examine the benefits that more WiFi availability in residence hall rooms will bring to both current and prospective students of Winthrop University, and if accepted, I hope that my final project on the subject will increase awareness of the issue so that actions can be taken to improve the current situation.

BACKGROUND

Winthrop University has seven residence halls: Margaret Nance, Wofford, Richardson, Lee Wicker, Thompson, Roddey, and the Courtyard.  Out of the seven residence halls, the Courtyard is the only one in which WiFi is accessible to all residents.  In the other residence halls, only the lobby and select study areas have WiFi.  In all residence halls except Courtyard, some residents might receive signals from the few WiFi hotspots available in their building, but the vast majority of them residents exclusively on Ethernet data jacks to access the internet in their room. 

When the university installed Ethernet data jacks in the rooms on campus, desktops were the primary computers that students brought to school.  However, times have changed, and technology has advanced at a rapid pace.  Today, most students bring laptops to school instead of desktops, and many people prefer to use WiFi on their laptops instead of Ethernet cords because of a laptop’s portability.  Not only do students bring laptops to their rooms, they also bring other portable devices that utilize WiFi, such as the iPad, iPod touch, Kindle, and Nook.  If every room had WiFi access on campus, more students would be able to achieve the full functionality of these devices.  WiFi technology is not going to disappear anytime soon, and by improving the WiFi in residence halls, Winthrop improve the life style of current and future residents who live on campus.

I have lived on campus since my freshman year at Winthrop, and now I am a junior. My first year and a half, I lived in Margaret Nance, my third semester I lived in Phelps, and I currently live in Lee Wicker.  Before I moved to campus, I originally assumed that all rooms on campus have WiFi, but I was mistaken.  Out of the three rooms that I have lived in, none have ever picked up a stable WiFi signal.  In Margaret Nance, I could occasionally pick up WiFi if I sat on the floor near the door, but I have mainly relied on running my 50 foot Ethernet cable across the room.  Not only that, but when we had friends over with their laptops, we often fought over who could use the only two Ethernet cords in the room.

My roommate and I currently have a router in our room, but that is not an option for all students.  Not only does a decent router cost a considerable amount of money, setting up a router itself can be extremely complicated, so much so that I had to get a friend to set up the router in our room because we could not get it to work on our own.  Many other students who choose to set up their own routers also might not understand how to properly set up the router security, which can mean that others might be able to view their personal information. 

However, even with a router in my room, I still find the lack of WiFi in Lee Wicker inconvenient.  Like many students, I find studying in my room distracting, and I often look for a quiet place in the residence hall to study.  However, there are only two places in the building that have WiFi: one study room on the third floor and the front lobby.  These two places can be very loud and distracting because many students go to those places for the WiFi.  As a digital information design major, the internet is necessary for much of my course work.  While I would often prefer to work in one of the smaller study rooms, they do not have WiFi, so I sometimes go to the library or a lab to do work.  However, with the exception of Margaret Nance, most computer labs on campus close before midnight, so I usually choose to work in my room because it is more convenient than having to stop what I am doing midway through.  Other students most likely have a similar problem as well, and they would most likely appreciate and take advantage of complete WiFi in the residence halls.

Winthrop University also requires that all freshmen who live farther than 50 miles away from the university must live on campus for their first two years of school.  Not all colleges require this, so Winthrop must provide prospective students with reasons as to why they should live on campus.  Since the fall of 2009, I have been a Winthrop Ambassador, and one of my main duties is to give tours of the campus to high school students.  When taking my group into a residence hall room, one of the most frequent questions that parents and students ask me is if all rooms have WiFi access.  I usually answer that question by saying that all rooms have two Ethernet outlets, but depending on where a student’s room is, he or she might or might not get WiFi.  I tell them that that if a room does not receive WiFi, students can easily purchase a router.  While that answer might suffice, I truly feel that if the school improves the WiFi in residence halls, it can use that as a main selling point to prospective students.  Not all schools have WiFi completely available in all of their residence halls, and many students might see that as an advantage of Winthrop attending compared to a different school.

PROPOSED PROJECT

The purpose of my project is to determine the feasibility of improving WiFi in residence halls so that all residents have access to WiFi in their rooms.  If implemented, it would be more convenient to current students and act as a selling point to prospective students. 

For my final paper, I will research both the pros and cons of installing better WiFi in the residence halls.  One of the main issues analyzed will be cost.  In order for my project to be feasible, the university must have a way to cover the cost of the WiFi installation, which will be very expensive.  The issue is further complicated because many of the residence halls are very old, and normal routers do not have strong enough signals to reach through the thick walls.  I will also investigate the desirability of better WiFi in residence halls.

My paper will be based on the following outline:

I.              Introduction

II.            Background

III.           Benefits

a.    Current Students

b.    Prospective Students

IV.          Implementation

a.    Cost

                                          i.    Current Provider

                                        ii.    Current Cost

                                       iii.    Cost of Installation

b.    Structural Issues

c.    Desirability

d.    Comparison to Similar Universities

V.           Possible Solutions

a.    Increase in Board

b.    Slow implementation

VI.          Conclusion

PLAN OF ACTION

After speaking to Residence Life, I was directed to speak to Mr. Patrice Bruneau, Director of Technology Services.  I have spoken to him briefly about my project, and he has willingly offered his help when needed.  I plan on contacting him again for a formal interview, in which I will ask him several questions as a stepping stone for my research. 

A major portion of my research will be dedicated to the cost of implementing better WiFi in the residence halls.  Mr. Brueneau informed me that his supervisor will know more on the subject, and I hope to speak to him shortly about the subject.  After I discover Winthrop’s current internet provider, I will contact the company about the cost of installing better WiFi in the resident halls.

I also plan to interview faculty working with Residence Life and Admissions on the benefits of WiFi in residence halls, and I will conduct a survey for students who live on campus.  Another part of my main research will be comparing Winthrop’s WiFi situation to other similar universities in the South Carolina region.  In particular, I will focus on USC, which has recently implemented campus wide WiFi.  I plan on contacting the school to learn about the process it went through to achieve its goal, and I hope to discover any complications that it found during the transition process and how it overcame them.

By the end of my research, I will have determined whether or not it is feasible to install better WiFi in the residence halls on campus. 

SCHEDULE

My tentative timeline is listed below:

Figure 1: Timeline

QUALIFICATIONS

Because I live on campus, I can relate to who other students who live in residence halls, and I know what issues matter to students the most.  My WiFi experiences from living on campus are also typical for the majority of students who live on campus because only one residence hall has complete WiFi.

My role as a Winthrop Ambassador also provides me with an insight into what prospective students want in a residence hall.  When giving tours, Ambassadors highlight the strong points of living on campus, and if the school implements better WiFi in the residence halls, then I know that both prospective students and their parents will see that as an advantage to coming to Winthrop. 

Furthermore, my major is Digital Information Design, and my minor is computer science.  I am a technologically savvy student, and my courses have led me to understand the growing importance of internet technology in today’s world.  My background in the subject will provide me with the skills necessary to discuss the topic in both a compelling and articulate manner.

RESOURCES

For basic information on campus WiFi availability, I will use the Winthrop website.  However, my main contact for this project will be Mr. Patrice Bruneau, the Director of Technology Services at Winthrop University.  His position allows him to know the main issues related to WiFi on campus, and he will be able to point me in the right direction for my research.  I also plan to interview a representative of both Residence Life and Admissions on the Winthrop campus to see how they think better WiFi in residence halls will benefit both current and prospective Winthrop students.

Moreover, I plan on comparing Winthrop’s WiFi availability to other colleges in South Carolina by looking at their websites and possibly contacting their technology departments when I have questions.  In particular, I will focus on the University of South Carolina, which has recently implemented campus wide WiFi. 

The opinion of students will also play a major role in my research.  I will conduct a survey and distribute it to a variety of students living in all of the seven residence halls on campus.  Their opinion on the subject should reveal whether or not installing better WiFi on campus is a relevant issue that would be appreciated.

CONCLUSION

My experiences as a student who lives on campus and as a Winthrop Ambassador have led me to fully understand the value of better WiFi in residence halls.  Winthrop University prides itself in the facilities that it provides to students, and by implementing better WiFi in residence hall buildings, Winthrop would show that it cares about the success and overall satisfaction of students who live on campus.  Investing in better WiFi in the residence halls would also serve as an investment to Winthrop because it will attract new students who value the importance of the internet as an integral part of their lives.