Technology changes around campus are imminent.

The Student Technology Fee Oversight Committee formally decided to move forward with computer lab closures on Middleton Library’s second floor and in the Student Union at a Feb. 20 meeting.

According to multiple sources, including newly appointed STFOC chairperson and vice provost for Human Resources and Facilities Management Jane Cassidy, this decision was made in light of an online survey conducted last semester.

“I’m hopeful their take on this is correct,” Elaine Smyth, interim dean of libraries told The Daily Reveille in April. “They have to make those hard financial decisions about where to put resources.”

Thomas Rodgers, Student Government Graduate Council President, said the survey was emailed campus-wide and asked students questions about how they use technology and technology-related services at the University.

The survey had 2,339 participants. 90 percent of those individuals reported owning laptops, 80 percent reported owning a smartphone and 30 percent reported owning tablets.

The soon-to-be-open space in Middleton Library will be repurposed as a study area, where students will have access to more outlets for charging their laptops, Smyth told The Daily Reveille in a previous interview.

With the funding saved from the lab closure decisions, Wi-Fi improvements are now a top priority for the STFOC.

At a Feb. 20 meeting, The STFOC approved Rodgers’ proposed idea of setting aside unused Information Technology Services revenue from the 2013-14 fiscal year for wireless improvements.

If revenue is available, the STFOC will use it toward Wi-Fi improvements, with Middleton being top priority as of Mar. 20.

While students may still be waiting for buildings like Lockett and Patrick F. Taylor to receive wireless updates, they will soon be required to connect to a new network.

On May 17, lsusecure will officially retire, and members of the campus community will have to connect to eduroam.

Eduroam started in Europe and is used by universities all over the world; if University students are on another campus using eduroam, they should be able to connect using their myLSU login information, Hector Rios, assistant director of Networking and Infrastructure told The Daily Reveille in March.

“There’s no use in continuing to support two networks that do the same thing,” Rios said.

In order to connect to eduroam, the only change users have to make is adding “@lsu.edu” to their username during the login process.

Robert Kuhn, now-retired STFOC chairperson and LSU Vice Provost, said previously to The Daily Reveille, when the STFOC’s earlier years focused on providing and maintaining computer labs for students.

How technology is used on the University’s campus may change, but it will remain an integral part of student life.

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