The UCSF Strategic Plan places a high priority on improved information systems. The UCSF Office of Academic and Administrative Information Systems (OAAIS) has responded to this challenge by initiating major upgrades to the UCSF network, including a broad enhancement and expansion of the UCSF wireless network.
This past spring, OAAIS’s Enterprise Network Services began the UCSF Campus Wireless LAN Project, which will improve and expand wireless services for various locations at Parnassus, Laurel Heights, Mission Bay and the Mission Center Building. The project will provide wireless services to general assignment teaching classrooms and other common areas such as Millberry Union.
Improving technology and enhancing communication between the UCSF community and the rest of the world are clearly laid out in the UCSF Strategic Plan. Joseph Castro, PhD, associate vice chancellor of Student Academic Affairs, has been a strong proponent of the project from the beginning. The previous wireless service provided “uneven access that didn’t adequately support the informational needs of students and faculty,” Castro said.
Indeed, prior to this year, wireless service was available in limited areas on the Parnassus campus. Access was often unreliable and the wireless infrastructure was operating beyond its normal life span. Not only was the previous wireless system difficult to support, but it left the system open and susceptible to security breaches.
The initiative’s first year is well underway, with the completion of the upgrade on the Parnassus campus to new, high-capacity access points scheduled by mid-October. Work will then begin on upgrading access points at Mission Bay, followed by Laurel Heights.
With the Wireless LAN Project, OAAIS is addressing the needs of faculty and students to be better able to connect with each other and to have ready access to the latest in information resources available via the web. Innovative teaching and conferencing activities also will be enhanced by the availability and capabilities of the new wireless system.
The original vision for the project came from Student Academic Affairs, the Student Computing Advisory Group, which has supported the efforts throughout the entire process, the Graduate Students’ Association and the Associated Students of UCSF. Other major sponsors include the Kalmanovitz Library and Center for Knowledge Management, Capital Programs & Facilities Management, and the Student Computing Committee.
The campus community will be invited to learn more about the wireless project at upcoming town hall meetings, which are scheduled for early November and late January. Email notification of the meeting times and locations will be sent by OAAIS and posted on the UCSF Campus Wireless LAN Project webpage.
