ST. LEO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the recent strategic investment in a new state-of-the-art fiber distribution system, Saint Leo University has significantly improved the school’s technology infrastructure and capacity. This new fiber system, from higher education managed technology services leader Apogee, provides multi-gigabit internet speeds and HD crystal clear programming to more than 2,200 students, as well as faculty and staff, on the main campus of the 130-year-old school. Saint Leo University partnered with Apogee to leverage Apogee’s specialization in the higher education environment and its consultative and service level-based model to deliver on the university’s strategic goal of modernizing the campus.
Deployed campus-wide in 30 academic buildings and residence halls, the new fiber system is just the start of the university’s plans to build the network to support explosive growth of data usage while laying the groundwork to empower students for academic success and ultimately, for quality of life. On the Saint Leo campus today, students and residence life staff use five to nine devices each that access the infrastructure through wired or wireless connectivity, with bandwidth demand projected to grow exponentially.
“With the largest incoming freshmen class of students in our 130-year history, Saint Leo is in an unprecedented growth mode,” said CIO Tom Hull. “To meet the needs of our growing population, we prioritized our commitment to improving the university’s infrastructure and capacity. Our service improvement project with Apogee has made a huge difference in our current and future ability to serve everyone on campus at the highest levels.
“With the right foundation in place, other services and applications run efficiently,” Hull added. For instance, thanks to the new infrastructure with 21,000 feet of optic cabling, Saint Leo just launched an all new digital TV service with more than 100 channels in crystal-clear HD to the students and staff in 25 academic and residential buildings. Now students can watch their favorite shows, sports, or movies with an HD signal from their residence halls and campus lounge areas. In an additional five buildings, the new fiber distribution will allow for the growth of the wireless connectivity experience on campus by improving speeds, increasing reliability, and signal strength.
Due to strengthened infrastructure, Saint Leo University is now on its way to further enhancements of its highest-speed network and wireless coverage for the community, as well as intranet, portal, software downloads, SaaS services and other key initiatives.
“Thanks to today’s technology infrastructure investment, the future is bright for our students here at Saint Leo,” Hull said. “Whether they’re doing research for a class project or watching YouTube videos or a football game during downtime, students will have incredible online experiences, contributing to their success here at Saint Leo.”
About Saint Leo University
Saint Leo University is one of the largest Catholic universities in the nation, offering nearly 60 undergraduate and graduate-level degree programs. Founded in 1889 by Benedictine monks, the private, nonprofit university is known for providing a values-based education to learners of all backgrounds and ages in the liberal arts tradition. Saint Leo is regionally accredited and offers a residential campus in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, 32 education centers in seven states, and an online program for students anywhere. The university is home to more than 95,000 alumni. Learn more at saintleo.edu/about.
About Apogee
As higher education’s largest provider of managed technology services, Apogee helps colleges and universities transition to and excel in today’s digital era. Its comprehensive managed suite includes ResNet services that connect the campus to enhance learning outcomes, video that transforms the way students learn, and new digital engagement technologies that captivate students. Partnering with Apogee enables schools to derive greater return on their IT investments and increases student satisfaction while achieving budget stability and predictability. Find out why nine out of 10 schools that choose to outsource ResNet and video choose to partner with Apogee at apogee.us.
