Smartphones are everywhere on college campuses, and if schools want to remain in touch with them, they should take advantage.
Whether you’re hanging out on the quad, walking to your dorm, or even sitting in a lecture, you’re likely to spot smartphones all around you. Ownership of these devices rises each year — in fact, according to the Pew Research Center, 84% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 own a smartphone.
Universities shouldn’t miss the opportunity to centralize campus interactions through mobile technology.
On Site Apps
Many colleges are already catching onto the trend. The 2014 Campus Computing Survey reveals that 83% of participating campuses had developed and released mobile apps, a 23% increase from 2012.
You might think the quickest or best way to break into the app scene is to simply convert the existing school website into an app, but experts take issue with that approach. Chris Hopkinson, vice president for strategy at DubLabs, calls it a “mistake” and claims that many of the apps his company builds are replacements for that initial misdirected effort.
An app is better suited for phones if it’s designed specifically for a phone, rather than for a website. The first reason relates to design: a website uses a wider screen, while an app uses a narrow one, allowing the user to scroll with ease.
Second, apps offer push notifications, which can update users about class cancellations, emergencies, and special events. Websites require people to actively seek out information, which is less ideal when there’s urgent news.
Apps can also accomplish things websites don’t attempt to do. For instance, they can save your school’s human resources department. The more information can be found quickly on an app, the less time ends up being wasted on hold with the campus call center.
They also create more cohesive communities. Ohio State Universitybegan developing a mobile app after separate departments said they would independently create their own if the university refused to provide them. The single resulting platform saved money and prevented a fragmented system from becoming the norm.
The Greater Good
Students use apps everywhere. Whether they’re doing research or checking the status of their laundry, there’s a brightly colored square on their phone designed to help.
Universities benefit from providing apps because they can prove that they are in step with modern technology, as well as connect students to resources in a way that is already familiar to them. Letting student needs shape the apps that are created tells students that they are a priority.
Got App?
Making apps doesn’t need to be an exhausting or expensive process for universities. AppMakr provides a simple, easy-to-use and easy-to-maintain platform for app design. The service allows users to create apps using a drag-and-drop style builder called “The Machine.”