In response to an email sent to the WCC Online Suggestion Box regarding - Wireless Internet On Campus:

Thank you for your comments on student access to wireless Internet on campus.

We do offer access to wireless Internet to any currently enrolled student.  The access is on the first floor of the Spruce Building.  We began offering this access in March, 2007.  Thus far, only 15 students have registered to use it.  We have been sharing this information through CAMNET daily.

Why is it only available in one location on campus?  We try to keep our operating expenses down, thus keeping the cost down for students.  It is our intention to see if students will use the wireless Internet access in Spruce.  If so, we plan to offer it in more locations on campus.

Why don’t we offer it everywhere and anywhere on campus?  The main reason is the cost.  The wireless Internet setup that we currently offer in the Spruce Building would provide the same access to a McDonald’s or to a Krispie Kreme.  It would take a system several times larger to offer it everywhere on campus.  But we hope that students will use the access in Spruce, thus giving us justification to offer it in other prime locations on campus.

Why do students have to register their laptops to use the wireless network?   We are required by the NC State Auditors, the Payment Card Industry (PCI), and others to secure all of our network resources, including the wireless.  Less than a year ago, we were audited by the State Controller’s Office.  They visited our campus, walked all over it with a laptop, (in the parking lots, between buildings, etc.), trying to connect to any wireless access point.  If they had been able to do so, we would have been in violation by allowing unsecured access to a wireless network.

Other schools do offer wireless access to their students, and most of them require their students to register for wireless access. References:  UNC, http://help.unc.edu/?id=4976 and Duke,  http://netreg.duke.edu/help/pages/about-netreg.shtml.

Thank you for posting to the WCC suggestion box.

In response to an email sent to the WCC suggestion box regarding - Vacation Days And Distance Education:

Online courses use the same academic calender as traditional seated courses. A notice has been sent to all online instructors to remind them assignments and/or tests should not be posted or due during vacation days. However, it is acceptable for an instructor to post an assignment prior to a break and expect it due after the break.

To view the WCC academic calender please use this link: http://www.waynecc.edu/calendar/

Thank you for posting to the WCC suggestion box.