Students at Commonwealth University are reporting widespread internet connectivity problems interfering with coursework and daily life following a 2025 infrastructure change intended to improve connectivity across campuses.
Students report slow internet speeds, unreliable wireless connections, and difficulty accessing online resources, saying the issues have disrupted virtual lectures, assignment submissions, and routine academic work. While university officials acknowledge the problems and say improvements are underway, many students say the inconsistent service remains a source of frustration.
Campus connection struggle persists
Lexie Madara, a biomedical student, stated that she missed part of an important lecture because of the poor internet connectivity.
“I couldn’t hear the professor properly,” said Madara, highlighting how unstable the internet can directly affect learning outcomes.
The issues are not only related to assignments, but students’ daily life on campus and hobbies outside of school.
“I usually have long download times on video games,” said Chase Kloster, a business major, describing one of the more noticeable impacts.
High server traffic can lead to reduced bandwidth, slower speeds, and issues such as lag and packet loss, all of which affect performance for both academic and recreational use.
University officials say they are aware of the concerns. Kevin Partridge, deputy chief information officer, said the university identified campus Wi-Fi as one of several priorities during a technology assessment conducted after the current administration took office in late December.
“As part of our initial assessment conducted after we began in late December, we evaluated the overall state of technology across all three campuses,” Partridge said. “That assessment identified several critical areas requiring attention, including campus Wi-Fi connectivity.”
According to Partridge, the university plans to upgrade residence hall wireless networks at the Bloomsburg and Lock Haven campuses this summer. Similar improvements are planned for the Mansfield campus next summer after the expiration of its outsourced service provider agreement.
The connectivity concerns follow technology changes made during the Spring 2025 semester, when Commonwealth University merged campus servers to support its multi-campus model and improve platforms including Zoom, CU Succeed and Coursedog. Although the changes were intended to streamline communication and collaboration, students and faculty say the transition has instead contributed to slower speeds and unreliable connections.
Issues began at CU-Bloomsburg during the first week of the 2025 Fall semester. According to an article from The Voice on September 1, 2025. On August 25, the Bloomsburg campus community was informed that the Wi-Fi was down at 10:02 a.m.. It was later restored at 11:21 a.m.. The following day, August 26, another email was sent informing the campus that the Wi-Fi was down once more at 10:28 a.m.. The issue did not get fixed until almost 24 hours later, making online resources almost completely inaccessible.
According to previous reporting by The Voice, campus-wide Wi-Fi outages occurred on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, 2025. During the outages, students were unable to consistently access Brightspace, course syllabi, assignments and other online resources. Faculty also reported classroom technology failures, including projectors, classroom computers and smart boards that were unable to connect, forcing some classes to relocate.
Technology concerns extended beyond internet access.
Earlier reporting by The Voice found the Bloomsburg campus has experienced a significant decline in classroom technology support staff following retirements and resignations. The shortage has left faculty and students troubleshooting classroom technology themselves while the university works to fill vacant positions amid budget constraints.
As the university prepares additional infrastructure upgrades, students say they hope improvements will provide the reliable internet access needed to support both classroom instruction and everyday campus life.
