Case Study: Dordt College achieves reliable, high-density campus-wide Wi-Fi with RUCKUS Networks ZoneFlex

Reliable campus-wide connectivity for higher education at Dordt college

Dordt College, a 1,400‑student campus spread over 150 acres with 27 buildings in Sioux Center, Iowa, found its legacy Wi‑Fi unable to deliver campus‑wide coverage or handle growing device density. The network stalled in high‑density areas (often at about 30 clients), lacked the granular client visibility needed for troubleshooting, and would not support an upcoming VoIP rollout — all while the college needed a solution with predictable up‑front and ongoing costs.

Dordt deployed a Ruckus ZoneFlex solution (191 ZoneFlex 7372/7982 APs with redundant ZoneDirector 3000 controllers) using BeamFlex+ adaptive antennas and built‑in management. The upgrade delivered ~30% higher peak client capacity, with some APs reliably serving 100+ clients, drastically fewer help‑desk complaints, and substantial time savings for deploy/troubleshoot/maintain tasks (customer‑reported ~79% reduction), plus lower CAPEX/OPEX thanks to fewer required APs.

Dordt College

Brian Van Donselaar

Director of Computer Services