Case Study: New College (University of Oxford) achieves seamless, secure campus-wide network access with Fortinet NAC

Network Access Control Meets New College’s Detailed Technical Requirements

New College, an autonomous college at the University of Oxford with roughly 1,200 networked devices and a large BYOD student population, needed stronger security while preserving a seamless user experience. Their homegrown authentication couldn’t scale to campus-wide wired and wireless demand; they required dynamic port management, productive VLAN assignment, real-time usage tracking, and a way to reduce virus outbreaks without burdening privately owned devices.

The college deployed Fortinet’s Network Access Control (NAC) integrated with its Novell e-directory, enabling unified wired/wireless authentication with existing credentials, dynamic switched-port and VLAN assignment, guest VLANs for conferences, and enforced patch/antivirus checks. The result was faster onboarding, improved visibility and control, rapid shutdown of rogue access points, fewer virus incidents and significant time savings for IT while enabling campus-wide wireless expansion.

New College University of Oxford

James Dore

IT Officer