It’ll come as no surprise to hear that the demands for university administrators are, for example, significantly different from those operating businesses in the hospitality sector.
Although the duty of care demands are often similar, there’s a focus on education rather than profit. It’s a fact which has led many in higher education to wonder whether there’s any value in offering free WiFi to their students.
After all, wouldn’t those resources be better spent elsewhere? The answer, of course, is no. Free WiFi in universities is an essential utility in the modern age, one which can benefit your university in a huge variety of ways.
In this article, we’ll look at just a few ways in which our university WiFi solution can help you, your students and your bottom line prosper. Let’s go.
Improved educational performance
Modern education has changed in so many ways since, perhaps, those days where we lurked the halls of our local university. Laptops, smartphones and tablets have entered the educational arena, being used to research, cite and check their work.
The modern lecture hall is no longer dominated by pen and paper, but instead by screens – all of which need access to the internet to function effectively.
Free WiFi means that every student, no matter where they are on campus, can access the internet to further their studies, and with tight controls, you can control exactly which websites are and aren’t available through your network.
Superior event support
Universities are ideally suited to hosting large events and conferences, with ready-made locations which are perfect for hosting hundreds of guests, whether they be scholars, journalists or any other group which might arrive at your establishment.
Not only does free guest WiFi offer a vital advantage over competing conference/event locations, it has a number of hidden benefits too. With our event manager tool, event organisers can offer secure and encrypted WiFi with SSIDs customised for each event, so that multiple events can be catered for simultaneously.
Login pages and URL redirects can also be created and allocated to each event, creating valuable sponsorship opportunities. You can even send automated email and SMS messages to attendees when they login in or scheduled throughout the day to alert them to, well, anything you please!
Crucial student support
British universities have developed a tremendous worldwide reputation over the centuries, a reputation which means that today, a good number of students arrive from international locations.
Caring for those international students is a significant challenge for administrators, as you attempt to integrate international students with the students who speak English as a first language.
Increasingly, international students turn towards the internet for support as they attempt to adjust to an entirely new educational environment. However, with international students often holding on to their old SIM cards, they’re reliant on WiFi to translate and navigate – something that university WiFi is ideally suited to help.
It’s not just international students who benefit either, with everyone benefitting from Airangel’s Status Pages, which can insert banners, menus, icons and links which appear as the student’s surf, guiding them towards vital educational tools which will support them throughout their day.
