Campus technologies, from the printers and computers in the residence halls, to the projectors and work stations in the academic buildings, are essential to the modern education Oswego State provides.

As technology advances, the rate of change increases, requiring more frequent and drastic updates to keep the campus up-to-date. These updates, for a majority of the departments on campus, are managed by Campus Technology Services (CTS).

Over the past few years, CTS has dramatically updated the technological standing of the school. Before 2013 the campus had 300 available Wi-Fi access points. Currently, the campus has about 1,349 access points. This dramatic increase can be attributed to the construction of the Shineman Science Center and the renovations of Tyler and Waterbury halls, as well as the inclusion of Wi-Fi hotspots in every residence hall, which was not a reality before 2012.

CTS has also worked to update the internet speeds on campus.

“Three years ago, we would have had one gigabite per second, for our internet speeds,” said Sean Moriarty, chief technology officer. “And now, were up to 2.7 gigabits per second. We’ve really increased it tremendously.”

CTS has strategic goals built into their update and maintenance scheduling, such as improving the banner service, creating better internet experiences in the residence halls and defining life cycles within which major campus technology must be renewed.

Not all campus technology is maintained by CTS exclusively. Penfield Library manages most of the technology that it allows students to use, with assistance from CTS. The laptops available from the circulation desk are updated under the discretion of the library, as well as the iPads and projectors. 

According to Natalie Sturr, the library technology coordinator, a significant portion of the 30 available laptops from the library circulation desk are replaced yearly.

“Ten laptops are replaced each year and we have just replaced the oldest ones,” Sturr said. “Currently, 10 laptops are brand new, 10 are a year old and 10 are two years old.  Next summer we will replace the 10 oldest laptops. The library has provided laptops for checkout since about 2002.”

Penfield Library also offers assistance through their technology assistance desk, just to the left of the stairs.

According to Ken, one of the members of the tech assistance team, “There aren’t many complaints about campus provided technology.” The desk mainly assists students with access to their MyOswego accounts or issues with printing.

The desktops available in the computer labs, 24 hour room and classroom one are all managed with assistance from CTS with the lobby desktop computers replaced every three to five years, as needed and the computer lab and 24 hour room being replaced now on a three year cycle. The computers available now are one year old in the lab, one and a half year old in the 24 hour room and three years old in the library lobby.

CTS is currently testing Windows 10 with its systems and hopes to begin implementation of the operating system in computer labs across campus by the spring semester. The Apple computers across campus are currently on macOS El Capitan and will be tested with their respective updates as they are available.