Washington University students voiced their concerns with wireless internet on campus, along with other technology-related issues, in a discussion with a University-hired technology consultant on Monday.

The Student Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) held an open meeting with Elliot Fishman, an external consultant whose firm IS & T was hired to act as an intermediary between students and administrators.

Students at the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with both wireless Internet and the WUSTL Key system.

Although no administrators were present, students believe that the discussion demonstrated that the University cares about students’ technological concerns and shows that the administration is taking steps to implement improvements. The University has not hired a technology consultant since at least 2006.

“It’s nice that [University administrators] are addressing technical issues and taking them seriously,” STAC chair Anthony Bernatas-Popeo said. “After transferring here after my freshman year, I saw a noticeable difference in the way that the University handled situations.”

Throughout the past two semesters, many students have experienced problems with Internet access. These include issues with login, passwords and general connectivity to WUFI-S, the University’s most secure Wi-Fi network.

This difficulty is largely attributed to insufficient bandwidth, which is a measure of connection speed.

According to the advisory committee, the wireless network is at capacity between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m., which means Internet speeds are slowest between those times.

Improving campus Wi-Fi and wireless access to online services is high on Student Union’s agenda this semester. In collaboration with STAC, SU has proposed to draw on the advantages of mobile Internet in order to make applications like WebSTAC and WebFood more accessible to students who don’t carry laptops.

“SU is working with administrators to better students’ college experience,” SU senator Vinoo Ganesh said.

The group also addressed issues with Telesis and WebSTAC, noting that because both sites are outdated and slow to load, they need improvement.

The students present agreed that both Telesis and WebSTAC have a variety of capabilities but are not used as effectively as they could be. Because some students must regularly access both sites, the group suggested streamlining the two into one central portal.

Fishman and his consulting firm are looking to pass recommendations to the University that will benefit students, faculty and administrators.

“We aim to collect and synthesize information about what’s working well and what needs improvement,” Fishman said. “Especially, we are looking at where the structure of technology service creates limitations. That’s our central goal.”

The IS & T project is sponsored by Provost Ed Macias, Executive Vice Chancellor Hank Webber and Vice Chancellor for Finance Barb Feiner.

Bernatas-Popeo hopes the University will make immediate efforts to resolve some of the issues that were raised at the meeting.

“Hopefully, noticeable improvements will be made in order to make campus technology sustainable for everyone,” Bernatas-Popeo said.