Fox Valley Technical College Drives Campus-Wide Standardization with Crestron Technology

introduction

Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) is a 2-year public college that was established as the nation’s first vocational and adult education system in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1911. As a technical learning center, FVTC offers high-tech occupational training for today’s workplace, featuring specialized centers that replicate real-world scenarios to prepare students and refine their skills across 70 associate degree offerings.

the challenge

Spanning 12 campuses, FVTC is comprised of nearly 400 classrooms, meeting rooms, executive offices, and conference centers equipped with state-of-the-art technology. These areas are all managed by a three-person AV team, which means efficient technology management is essential. Partnering with Automation Arts, FVTC’s AV Services Manager, Brandon Landwehr, and his team began implementing new classroom standards.

the solution

This new effort sought out solutions that would benefit the faculty and students in the classrooms today, while also evolving with them over time. All classrooms are standardized in terms of technology and layout, ensuring a consistent experience for faculty, especially adjunct professors. The Crestron ecosystem was the perfect fit for these needs, with FVTC relying on the Crestron DM NVX® AV-over-IP platform, AirMedia® wireless collaboration systems, Crestron intelligent video solutions, and the XiO Cloud® management platform.

“Crestron makes it easy for us to deliver systems that meet FVTC’s standards and serve students and faculty. Their proactive approach with XiO Cloud ensures uptime and keeps them ahead of issues. The consistency and reliability of Crestron technology have strengthened our partnership with FVTC with every integration.”
– Tony Anders
Account Executive, Automation Arts

the technology

Standard classrooms rely on the DM Essentials lineup and Crestron control to provide a streamlined point-to-point connectivity for classroom materials to be shared. Faculty know what they expect when they enter these spaces, so connecting to the system is seamless, no matter which campus they might be teaching on that day. FVTC is in the process of adding more multi-purpose rooms to the campus to maximize space. Designed with longevity in mind and to support evolving learning environments, DM NVX technology was selected as the backbone for these divisible classroom setups due to its flexibility and reliability.

Specialized learning environments, such as culinary classrooms, baking labs, and dental hygiene labs, outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, deliver a hands-on and experiential approach for practical training. AirMedia wireless presentation systems are paired with PTZ cameras to provide connectivity to the in-room monitors, offering additional views of demonstrations. For example, in the kitchens, each culinary workstation features a display that utilizes AirMedia technology to provide students with a personalized view of the lesson or lecture notes. Adaptable to future instructional needs, the content can be modified for every lesson, allowing students to view the materials that best suit their class needs for that day.

To support administration, the boardroom adopted the same approach, emphasizing ease of use and best-in-class reliability. The Crestron intelligent video portfolio provides a multi-camera system that makes hybrid meetings effortless. The Automate VX system is paired with eight 1 Beyond p-Series to capture in-room participants from every angle. Multiple displays around the room ensure that content is always within view, as are remote participants when a hybrid meeting is in session. The system provides clear visibility of everyone at the large table, ensuring the experience feels natural and connected to bridge the gap between in-room and virtual attendees. The seamless environment is fully automated, empowering administrators to focus on their goals without worrying about the technology supporting them.

While embracing technology solutions has created learning environments that are ready to grow with faculty and students, the classroom workflows have tasked the AV team with even more to manage. The XiO Cloud platform has been instrumental in maintaining smooth operations across the college. Landwehr and his team can mitigate issues before they impact faculty or students. The platform is heavily utilized to monitor device uptimes for proactive resolution when challenges arise. FVTC emphasizes this approach to AV support, which frees their team to focus on planning future innovative deployments and skill development rather than reactive troubleshooting.

“Our intelligent video system lets us focus on the meeting, not the technology. Our users value how the automated environment simply works, allowing them to concentrate on their goals while remote participants feel genuinely included.”
– Brandon Landwehr
AV Services Manager, Fox Valley Technical College

the results

With the Crestron solutions portfolio, FVTC was able to maintain technology standards across a plethora of environments, from industrial kitchens to standard boardrooms. The consistent approach has delivered top-tier solutions that have modernized custom learning environments that remain manageable for the IT team to manage, despite the scale and scope of their room portfolio.