Mark E. Henderson
Dear Editor:
My name is Mark E. Henderson and I am the current Manager, College Information Systems for Pierce College. This letter is in response to the article titled “A campus staying connected,” by Aaron Sheldon in the May 7, 2008 issue of the Roundup newspaper.
First I would like to thank you for your time and diligence in bringing this topic to light. Wireless access is a direction that Pierce College plans to aggressively pursue.
The progress to date is as follows. The Pierce College Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) met on May 8, 2008 and has agreed that wireless access is a service that Pierce College should be providing to its students, faculty, and staff as long as it is safe and secure.
The TAC in conjunction with Administration has tasked the Manager, College Information Systems to develop a plan to collaborate with industry partners to further achieve this goal.
Pierce College is investigating two options: 1. a “hot spot” model, wireless access in specific areas of campus and 2. a campus wide model, wireless access to cover the entire campus including classrooms. Preliminary testing is currently underway in the following areas, the Freudian Sip, the Art area, the Physics and Computer Applications Office Training departments. There is also wireless access in the Administration building, which is in the process of being expanded.
A proposed timeline for implementation will be submitted to the TAC for review and further recommendations. To give you some insight the proposed timeline is as follows:
Complete testing – no later than July 2008.
Begin pilot – no later than August 2008.
Implement – no later than October 2008.
These dates and times are subject to change due to resource availability and semester scheduling. If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns please contact me in the Pierce College Information Technology department.
We are located on the first floor of the Library, in the Media center.
Respectfully,
Mark E. Henderson, Ed. DManager, College Information SystemsPierce College