The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium meets college students’ digital expectations with SpectrumU

“SpectrumU has given our institutions a way to meet our students where they are, in terms how they access media of all kinds.” — Amy Cronin, executive director, NY6

Today’s college students are the first truly digital natives: They grew up streaming cartoons on tablets, doing homework on laptops and video chatting on smartphones. They expect to be able to stream content anywhere and anytime.

The New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium (NY6), comprised of six colleges throughout upstate New York, had become very aware of this expectation. Each member school offered traditional, hardwired cable in their dorm rooms. But declining usage rates, combined with students’ growing expectations around streaming content, made it clear they needed to up their game.

The Consortium started the search for a new service. It had to be reliable, provide live and on-demand programming, and be easy to deploy and manage. Last but not least, it had to be provided by a dependable technology partner.

After evaluating different options, NY6 chose SpectrumU from Spectrum Enterprise. SpectrumU, a modern TV streaming service, would enable students to watch live programming and on-demand content anytime, anywhere. Programming is delivered to devices over an IP connection from the Spectrum Enterprise content delivery network so it is not subject to weather-related disruptions. And, it doesn’t have head-end or transcoding equipment to power, cool or maintain.

NY6’s decision also had to do with their Spectrum Enterprise account representative, Justin Niebel. “Justin understood what we were looking for and he’s patient,” says Amy Cronin, the executive director for NY6. “He was persistent, but appropriately so. He earned our trust.”

Three NY6 member schools initially opted to move forward with SpectrumU, and today, their students are enjoying being able to stream their favorite shows from anywhere. The Consortium couldn’t be happier with their decision. They know that with Spectrum Enterprise by their side, they’ll be able to meet student streaming expectations even as they continue to evolve.