Comprehensive BYOD Management at SDSU

With 34,000 students, 9,600 faculty and staff, and guests on its 300-acre campus, California’s San Diego State University (SDSU), a nationally ranked research university renowned for academic excellence, must accommodate tens of thousands of wireless and mobile devices accessing its network each day, many of these personal devices. Given that volume of devices, SDSU needed a comprehensive access and policy management solution that could easily scale while improving the security of the wireless network.

SDSU 

San Diego State University’s deployment of the ClearPass Access Management System will provide robust, reliable and secure network access for all of their users — students, faculty, staff and guests.

SDSU selected to deploy the Aruba ClearPass Access Management System, a new solution that will allow it to manage network policies, securely onboard and manage devices and admit guest users — all from one platform.

Combined with SDSU’s existing Aruba Networks Wireless LAN (WLAN), ClearPass will allow the university to address the challenges associated with the exponential growth in wireless and mobile devices resulting from the growing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend on campus. The new solution will give SDSU’s IT department visibility into exactly which users and devices are registering onto the network, enabling SDSU to better manage, track and give appropriate access to the devices accessing the network, which will ensure a more secure, consistent network experience for all of the university’s users.

“With our old access management system, we weren’t able to access the necessary information from devices to properly prioritize and manage traffic,” says Kent McKelvey, director, Telecomm and Network Services, SDSU. “With ClearPass, we will be able to view and manage all of that detailed information, and restrict or block access if necessary. ClearPass will provide us with the flexibility to manage a user base comprised of known and unknown users and will allow us to quickly and easily adjust how we determine levels of access.”

Aruba Networks
www.arubanetworks.com

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management August 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Utah Valley University Opens New Engineering Building

    Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, recently held a grand-opening ceremony for the new Scott M. Smith Engineering Building, according to a news release. The facility is one of the largest engineering buildings in the state at almost 200,000 square feet, and it plays home to the university’s Smith College of Engineering and Technology (SCET).

  • UNT Dallas Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for $100M STEM Building

    The University of North Texas at Dallas in Dallas, Texas, recently celebrated the opening of its new, $100-million STEM Building, according to local news. The ceremony on Dec. 2 preceded the first day of classes in the facility on Jan. 12, 2026.

  • Countway Library at Harvard Medical School

    From Shadows to Sanctuary: The Transformation of Light at Countway Library

    The renovation of Countway Library at Harvard Medical School demonstrates how biophilic design and advanced lighting strategies transformed a formerly dark, insular space into a vibrant, welcoming hub that supports wellness, learning, and community engagement.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

Digital Edition