College is all about learning.
Arguably one of the better forms of learning is actual experience which aids in both understanding and in providing a fundamental layer for which the more abstract ideas in college education can be based. Installing, configuring, and maintaining a server benefits students greatly by giving them experience in the field of computer networking. Obviously a person doesn't need a publicly routable IP address for an academic encounter with networking, however being able to serve webpages to external friends and family members, serve email, and all the other activities commonly used on public networks gives a huge motivational boost to prospective students. In addition, having an external IP can let you do things like access files off your computer when you are away from campus, such as at home. To get an IP address you will need to join the aswwc.net club.