I am writing on behalf of many upset students in regard to the Internet service, or shall I say lack of Internet service, my colleagues and I are receiving on South Campus. I would have written you sooner, but without exaggeration, it took me around 25 minutes with several retries to load this page.I have a considerable amount of computer and network knowledge as I was a Systems Assistant for two years, so you can be assured that I am not mistakenly writing about a simple problem due to an incorrect connection or an incorrect setting on my machine. My roommates and I are experiencing absolutely terrible Internet service and through talking to other students living down here, I can conclude that it is a widespread problem. I canʼt say that I have absolutely no Internet service, but I am very frequently unable to access any Web pages more complex than Yahoo or Google. In attempting to download files, it is common to see download speeds of less than three to five kbps. Often such downloads
drop into the bytes per second readings and estimate a download time of several hours. On files that are two or four megabytes, this should never be the case; not on a 56k dial-up connection, and surely not on a T1
network such as the one we are connected to.
I do realize that several factors play into the quality of our connection. Obviously traffic can slow it down and viruses that spread over the network can decrease the speed, but neither of those are good enough
excuses for the completely horrible Internet service we are receiving. One of our main concerns is not having the ability to acthings on my mind from day to day. The last thing I need to be stressed out about is the fact that I canʼt complete an assignment or schedule my classes because the Internet is not working the way it should be.
Another large concern we have is the technology fee we pay. To my understanding, part of this fee is to fund the network and the Internet service we receive in our on-campus living facilities. I am wondering how I can be refunded this money because it seems to me that itʼs not being used the way it should be. Correct me if I am wrong, but it appears that I am paying for a service that I am not receiving. If I were paying for Internet service through an independent ISP, I would not stand for service like I am receiving.
I canʼt imagine that many people in their right minds would. It is not only an incredible inconvenience for your stucess our e-mail and other online resources such as MyWCU, Blackboard and the library, to name a few. The universityʼs motto is “Expect Excellence.” Whether or not that applies only to academics, I donʼt know. I do know, however, that without decent Internet service, students are incapable of completing assignments and the research that is necessary to achieve academic excellence. I am not saying that it is impossible to succeed and do well in the presence of this sub-par Internet service, but I can tell you that it certainly makes it
more difficult. As a college student, I have so many important dents, but it is a disgrace to the university to advertise Internet service that doesnʼt work.
I realize that in a response to this letter, I could be directed to the library and/or the computer lab in Anderson Hall. Let me tell you that I have had
to spend more time in these two locations to do simple tasks like send e-mails and check course assignments through Blackboard than I have had to in the rest of my career here at WCU. While these two locations
are valid areas for students to access the Internet, there is no reason that we should have to go there when we have a computer of our own and are paying for the same service in our dorms and apartments.
I hope that some serious attention will be given to this very pertinent issue.