Jan. 22 Early-Morning Network Maintenance to Disrupt Campus Connectivity

Early-morning network maintenance by UNCG Information Technology Services briefly interrupted wired and wireless connectivity across campus on Jan. 22, affecting students, faculty, and staff during a planned 5 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. work window. ITS performed the maintenance to improve network stability, performance, and security, and campus units were warned to expect brief interruptions to access during the operation.

The maintenance touched a wide geographic footprint. Buildings reported as affected included 117 McIver St (Carter Child Care), 310 McIver (North Drive Child Care), 536 Highland Ave, 996 Spring Garden, 1100 West Market, Campus Supply, Cone Hall, Curry, Ferguson, Gatewood Studio Arts Center, Graham, Graphics and Printing, Grogan Hall, Guilford Hall, McIver Parking Deck, McNutt, Mary Foust, MHRA, Music, Oakland Ave Parking Deck, Physical Plant Garage, Reynolds Hall, Sink, South Chiller Plant, Steam Plant, and the Weatherspoon Art Museum.

UNCG officials had advised no action was required of individuals, noting that work was scheduled during low-traffic hours to limit disruption. Students, faculty, and staff who experienced outages were directed to contact the campus helpdesk 6-TECH for assistance. 6-TECH can be reached by phone at (336) 256-TECH (8324), by email at 6-TECH@uncg.edu, or by submitting a ticket via the UNCG 6-TECH portal.

For academic and administrative operations, the interruption underscored the dependency of classrooms, research labs, and administrative offices on reliable campus networking. Scheduled maintenance windows like this one are a standard tool to manage security patches, hardware upgrades, and performance tuning, and scheduling during early-morning hours is intended to reduce impact on teaching and business continuity. Still, units that rely on time-sensitive online submissions, virtual meetings, or remote instrument control may need to account for these windows when planning deadlines and operations.

The incident also highlights institutional responsibilities for communication and continuity. ITS provided advance notice and multiple contact channels, which aids transparency and accountability for campus services. Departments that host events or deadlines around maintenance windows should confirm backup plans with ITS and consider local contingencies for critical workflows.

For now, normal connectivity has resumed. Students and staff who continue to experience problems should contact 6-TECH at (336) 256-TECH (8324), email 6-TECH@uncg.edu, or submit an online ticket. Expect future maintenance to be scheduled during low-use periods; plan critical activities accordingly and watch official UNCG channels for upcoming notices.