A server failure knocked out Wi-Fi and academic tools at California Lutheran University on the first day of classes Aug. 24. Students could not find classrooms or access coursework for days.
The outage took down the Thousand Oaks university's internal virtualized server infrastructure, disabling Canvas, MyCLU and other systems used by Cal Lutheran's 3,144 students and its faculty, The Echo, the university's student newspaper, reported Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Chief Information Officer Zareh Marselian told The Echo that multiple servers went down and required backup restores to bring services back online. Wi-Fi returned within hours, but MyCLU and other tools stayed offline for multiple days.
The disruption hit hardest on that first morning. Without access to digital schedules or campus navigation tools, students had no way to locate their classrooms. Staff placed QR codes around campus linking to class schedules and handed out physical maps at the Student Union building.
Sophomore Adamaris Montiel said her schedule was thrown off because she did not know where any of her classes were.
"Took a bit long to be honest. It wasn't until around 10 when they started handing out [maps]," Montiel told The Echo.
Sophomore Jovi Estrada, a commuter student, called the outage "awful" and said little could be done in her classes, with assignments pushed to later meetings. Even after getting home and connecting to Wi-Fi, Estrada said she initially could not access Canvas.
Cal Lutheran's alert system sent emails and text messages to students and staff on Aug. 24 warning that Wi-Fi and internet were down. The university's official account on X acknowledged the outage that day, noting professors were aware and would work with students. By Tuesday, Aug. 25, the university posted that MyCLU and online course access had been restored.
Provost Leanne Neilson said in a statement to The Echo that she was grateful for the patience of students and staff during the outage.
Marselian said the university implemented "additional measures" after the outage but acknowledged they are unlikely to prevent future disruptions. Every outage, he said, helps the university build a more reliable network, and the goal is to keep service disruptions to a minimum.
