Ask a student on campus about UNI’s Wi-Fi, and they will most likely provide a vehement response. There has been complaints among students in recent months  about the lack of consistency with the Wi-Fi on campus. It has, on numerous instances, been either slow, inconsistent, or simply inactive.

Nowadays, internet access and Wi-Fi can be integral to students’ daily lives, not only for assignments and schoolwork, but for communication with friends and keeping updated on social media.

“I cry at least three times a day because my Twitter won’t load,” said Shannon McGraw, freshman elementary education major.

While some students get emotional over a lack of access to social media, many students also have had the Wi-Fi go out on them while working on school assignments.

Some students shared horror stories about writing an important paper or taking a test on campus only for the Wi-Fi to fail.

“I was in the middle of taking a test and the Wi-Fi crashed,” said Claire Tuchek, sophomore exercise science major. “I freaked. I had to turn it on and off, and luckily my answers saved.”

Other students have not been as lucky as Tuckek and have had to start all over on projects and tests when the Wi-Fi crashed.

The inconsistency of the Wi-Fi also affects students’ attempts to fill out university related forms, such as housing contracts.

“My roommate and I were choosing our room for next year on our housing contract,” said Katie Pfalz, sophomore social work major. “As we were about to select the last available room in the building we wanted, the Wi-Fi went out and we had to start all over.”

Some students said they have learned from personal failures and anecdotal evidence from other students and have since found different methods for getting online.

“I take all my tests and submit assignments in the computer lab,” said Courtney Early, sophomore English major. “I’m scared that the Wi-Fi will just disconnect on me, and the computers have a strong connection.”

Davion Henderson, freshman biochemistry major, mentioned that he takes a different route.

“I don’t use the Wi-Fi. I just use my cellular data,” Henderson said.

UNI’s Network Services is in charge of providing the campus with Wi-Fi services.

According to Nate Klostermann, director of ITS-Network Services, the group has made great strides in coverage in recent years, especially in Rider Hall and the Towers Center, and has increased speed and access through an upgrade to the latest technology. He said they are continuously working on improving and updating the system, and, according to Klostermann, performance will improve even more this coming school year.

“We have been actively working on issues related to an older portion of our Wi-Fi system in ResNet,” said Nate Klostermann, Director of ITS-Network Services. “That system will be upgraded starting this summer, which will greatly improve performance and reliability.”

According to Klostermann, UNI receives its Wi-Fi services through Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU), a nationally recognized provider once praised by President Obama in a Cedar Falls stop in Jan. 2015.

Klostermann said that they have enjoyed a successful, long-standing relationship with CFU. UNI also partners with AT&T to provide Wi-Fi to guests.

Klostermann offered a plan of attack for students who are struggling with the Wi-Fi. First of all, students should make sure they are connected to Wi-Fi-UNI, and not attwifi, which is the network that is provided for guests.

If students are indeed connected to Wi-Fi-UNI and are still experiencing problems, Klostermann said that they should utilize the services provided by the ITTC. He recommended that they contact the Computer Consulting center to make sure their devices are taking full advantage of the Wi-Fi settings.

Students can contact the Computer Consulting center by stopping by room 36 in the ITTC or by calling 319-273-5555.

Klostermann noted that students can assist the computer consulting staff by providing their location, the name of the network they are trying to connect to and what websites they were visiting when they experienced connection difficulties.