The modem you are calling should answer the line. The modem speaker should shut off. Plug a phone into the same jack, and see if the phone works properly in the same jack. See if you have a volume control for your modem. Turn it up, if you do.
Most modems also have a command to control the speaker.
Most of the time the command ATM1 will turn on the speaker until a connection is made. Check your documentation. Check to make sure that the modem is connected to a working phone jack. Plug a phone into the same outlet to verify that the jack works properly. On rare occasions, this is caused by a modem malfunction on our side, but more often it indicates that your modem may not be compatible with WSU's modems.