The Wi-Fi at Pierce College will be password-protected beginning spring 2014.
Currently, Pierce’s Internet services are open to anyone with a laptop or mobile device, but next semester, the only way to access the Wi-Fi is through having an account with the school, according to Wendy Bass, distance education coordinator for PierceOnLine.
Students and staff will have individual accounts that they will be required to use to log in. Logging in will require the Pierce ID number and password that is used to access the Student Information System, according to Bass.
“It will be authenticated against the SIS,” she said.
The Wi-Fi will be accessible for the first three weeks to guests or anyone not enrolled at Pierce, but after the first three weeks it will be restricted to account holders, according to Bass.
She hopes that this will allow for more bandwidth for the Pierce community trying to access the Internet connection.
“We don’t know if it’s gonna get better but we’re hoping that maybe if you have a login, it’ll get rid of people that don’t belong on Pierce College that may be using our Wi-Fi for free,” Bass said during an Academic Senate meeting on Monday. “If you are logging in, you may not be as adventurous about saying, ‘I’m going to watch a movie on Pierce’s Wi-Fi.’”
