“The Student Success Center] project demonstrates leadership's commitment to acknowledging and providing resources for the larger student success mission. It shows a willingness to invest in supporting infrastructure for students and organizations. The intentional creation of spaces fosters a sense of belonging and communication, contributing to the holistic Oregon State-Cascades Campus experience.” 

OSU-Cascades Student Success Center: Enhancing Student Success with Cutting-Edge Technology 

At Oregon State University, we are committed to enhancing the student experience, ensuring students across the university have excellent and equitable resources to support their academic journey. On January 7, OSU-Cascades welcomed the year with a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the Bend campus’s new Student Success Center. The center officially opened its doors to students this week and will be home to OSU-Cascades student services such as academic advising, the Career Development Center, student clubs and organizations, and the Associated Students of Cascade Campus. Built with sustainable mass timber, the center includes one level for socializing and one level for studying, a coffee shop, geothermal heating and cooling, a wood-burning masonry heater, locally sourced Doug fir siding — and plenty of state-of-the-art tech. 

 “State-of-the-art technology is vital in a student-focused building designed to support student success,” said Amy McLaughlin, Executive Director for University Information & Technology’s Technical and Solutions Architecture. “It ensures that students have access to cutting-edge resources, facilitating creativity and communication, and preparing them for the demands of the modern workforce.” 

University Information & Technology was instrumental in helping to implement the technology for a modern and future-ready student center, requiring multi-team coordination between Network, Telecom, Cable Plant, and the Academic Technologies Technical and Classroom Technologies teams. Enabling and enhancing student success and the teaching and learning experience for all of OSU — online and in-person, from Corvallis to Bend, Newport to Portland, and across all extension sites — is core to UIT’s mission and commitment to the OSU community.  

“Ultimately, investing in high-quality technology underscores OSU’s commitment to providing students with the tools and environment necessary to thrive academically, socially, and professionally,” said Marc Cholewczynski, Associate Director of Technical Services.  

OSU’s Corvallis campus operates one of the best university Wi-Fi networks in the nation. Expanding this network to include buildings on the OSU-Cascades campus, such as the Student Success Center, has allowed UIT to have an impact on the student experience, giving students the digital tools they need to confidently live, work, study, and collaborate on campus. 

As Johan Reinalda, Director of Network & Telecom, puts it, "a good Wi-Fi network these days is pretty much a requirement for teaching and learning. The student campus experience is dependent on it."  

Expanding the OSU network and implementing state-of-the-art technology in the Student Success Center also serves to ensure an equitable experience for OSU-Cascades students. Like the MU is for the Corvallis campus, the Student Success Center serves as the campus living room where students can access key services, socialize, grab a cup of coffee, and find a quiet study space. By implementing thoughtfully integrated technology, UIT is helping to foster and support student success and the overall student experience on the Bend campus. 

“This environment fosters a sense of community and provides students with tools to succeed academically and socially, enhancing their overall university experience,” McLaughlin said. 

“A well-functioning Student Success Center should contribute to the success of the Bend campus. If current students are happy, word of mouth may help attract more students,” Reinalda added. 

UIT was involved early in the planning and construction of the center, serving as consultants and ensuring the technology would meet all requirements. The Network team established wiring standards for all network-connected devices, designed Wi-Fi coverage for the building, and purchased, installed, and configured the necessary network and Wi-Fi equipment. The Cable Plant team ensured compliance with all structured cabling standards, meeting both state and federal codes, and the Telecomm team managed phone deployment and alarm wiring for elevators and campus blue phone. In addition, the Network, Telecom, and Cable Plant teams needed to ensure the design and implementation was future-forward enough to allow for innovation, expansion, and experimentation. 

“Keeping the cabling infrastructure and network equipment at state-of-the-art is done for one very simple reason:  Higher education is always coming up with bizarre and unusual ideas on what they can do with the technology,” said Tim Bateman, Network Operations Center Manager. “Students and academics aren’t normally looking for 100G throughput, but the strange and sometimes proprietary systems they bring into the mix would constantly cause us to re-invest and upgrade if we implemented from a bare necessity perspective.” 

The Academic Technologies Technical Services and Classroom Technologies teams played pivotal roles as audio/visual and collaboration technology design consultants, subject matter experts, and integration partners for the center. They designed, budgeted, procured, and deployed supportable technology solutions throughout the building, creating a student-focused environment designed to foster success.  

“UIT remains dedicated to building robust and agile infrastructure to keep pace with the ever-changing landscape of presentation technologies,” said Don DeMello, Associate Director of Classroom Technology Services. “Our commitment to providing reliable and consistent collaborative technology across all buildings at OSU-Cascades ensures a seamless experience for faculty, staff, and student engagement.” 

The Student Success Center is one of the latest collaborations with UIT to incorporate high quality network and state of the art collaboration and audio/visual technology. In the last year, teams have partnered with PRAx, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Engineering, College of Science, and Extension Services to upgrade and install technology that enhances the student experience both virtually and in-person. UIT’s cross-university collaborations only serve to highlight OSU’s commitment to leveraging technology to support student success provides both students and faculty with access to the latest technological advancements that elevate the academic experience and equip students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in their future careers.  

“[The Student Success Center] project demonstrates leadership's commitment to acknowledging and providing resources for the larger student success mission,” said Cholewczynski. “It shows a willingness to invest in supporting infrastructure for students and organizations. The intentional creation of spaces fosters a sense of belonging and communication, contributing to the holistic Oregon State-Cascades Campus experience.” 

UIT looks forward to continuing efforts that innovate and improve the technological landscape at OSU, ensuring that our students and faculty have the best possible tools at their disposal.