Students have come back to a new app this year to keep them up-to-date on University happenings. The home page features a new section entitled “The Weekender” at the very top, which allows students to see colorful posters advertising future events occurring on campus. There are also various quick links offered on the new interface such as laundry, the campus map, dining, and athletics, among others. These links give students details concerning campus services from the availability of laundry machines in their building, to what is on the daily menu for different dining spots on campus. Additionally, the app offers quick access to the Moodle page, so students can keep up on their homework assignments and due dates on-the-go. Students even have the ability to add favorites to the home page, so they can quickly access the links they use most.

The app is not only for University students. It offers a variety of options, labeled as “personas” on the app, which allow the user to select the identity which best fits their relationship to the University. The persona options are student, prospective student, class of 2022–new student orientation, alumni, faculty & staff, parents & families, and campus guests. Once selected, the app tailors to the needs of that persona by displaying the most relevant quick links on the homepage.

The prospective student has access to quick links such as open houses, how to apply, what’s new at the University, and academics. These links allow the prospective students to explore key elements of the University. This persona is similar to that of the campus guest; however, the campus guest persona includes nearby dining, shopping, and entertainment suggestions.

The alumni persona offers quick links to University news, upcoming events, connection building, and ways to support the University. There is also a link to the Alumni App, which is mainly used for connecting with other alumni.

Alumni Cassandra Castorino ’11 said, “This app is like an extension of the Alumni App since it easily lets me search for and connect with people from my class. It also makes me more aware of what’s happening on campus now, so I can stay connected to the University.”

The parents and families persona includes quick links to family events, ways to support students, and ways to stay connected. The faculty and staff persona provides quick access to human resources, workday, events, campus services, the directory, and much more. Lastly, the class of 2022 persona welcomed the new students and provided them with an orientation schedule, campus map, to-do list, and other features.

While the app is meant to help users, there are some complaints. “The app is good in theory, but can use some improvement because I am unable to stay logged in and it is not exactly user-friendly. Each quick link brings you to a website instead of just opening the service directly in the app,” Justin LaCapra ’20 said.

The app is available to download for free on smartphones. Comments and suggestions pertaining to the app can be submitted directly on the feedback section of the app or by emailing [email protected].