About California State University Stanislaus

California State University, Stanislaus, is part of the 23-campus system of California State University.  Well-known as Stanislaus State, this school has a student body of nearly 10,000 students in two locations – the main Turlock campus and the Stockton Center.  The University’s four colleges offer 42 undergraduate majors, 17 minors, 23 master’s programs, one doctoral program and seven teaching credential programs.  Its most popular areas of study in the 2016-17 school year were business administration and psychology.  The University has a staff of more than 1,100 people, including 584 instructional faculty, allowing for a student/teacher ratio of 21:1 (Fall 2016).

Led by President Ellen Junn and Provost Kimberly Greer, California State University, Stanislaus has been ranked among the best colleges in the nation by The Princeton Review, and it has been among the top 100 colleges for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanic Students.  The American Association of State Colleges and Universities rated it as one of 12 public universities that demonstrate exceptional performance in improving retention and graduation rates.  

Challenge

When California State University, Stanislaus, began its quest for a campus-wide wireless audio/video solution, the technology professionals ranked Cloud-based control, a control interface that was device agnostic, and a networked AV over IP solution among their requirements.  Because the system was to be used for collaborative classroom environments by faculty, students, staff and guests, the school also wanted something that was easy to use and intuitive for all audiences. 

In addition, the school wanted to be able to demonstrate the technology to end users and to other visitors to the campus.  

Solution

Kramer’s VIA Site Management and VIA Connect PRO Wireless Presentation and collaboration solutions fit the bill here.  Coupled with Kramer Control in through the use of the Kramer SL-280 Master Room Controller, this system provided everything the University needed in one easy-to-use package.

Information Technology Consultant Luis Segovia said he chose Kramer electronics products because there was a full line under one umbrella, and everything worked together seamlessly.  “They were truly app-based,” Segovia said.  “Kramer has one suite that can be accessed from anywhere on campus in one program.  There is continuity going from room-to-room, and the simplicity is inherent.”

Results

The Kramer VIA system was wirelessly connected to the classrooms, and instructors know exactly what to do with the system because it is intuitive and seamless.  The active learning classrooms include five work pods, each with a VIA Connect PRO, iPad interface and 4K display, and an instructor pod with the same equipment plus a projector, twisted pair transmitter/receiver, power amp, document camera, Blu-Ray player and Kramer VS-1616DN matrix switcher.  With each VIA Connect PRO connected to the VS-1616DN matrix switcher, the Kramer Control creates a collaborative learning environment, interconnecting the student pods.  Work can be shared in real time, and the student pods can send to each other, to the teacher and to the main screen.

The University provides a brief training with the end users in its demo room, then the faculty jumps right in to use the system in presentations and classes.  The University launched 14 classroom upgrades in Fall 2017, with an additional 25 scheduled in each of the next three years, for a total of 90 classrooms by 2020.  The system will also be installed in the president’s conference room.