Utah State gets a new app.
Manda Perkins
assistant news editor
Kylee Larsen Photo
The mobile guide to all things Utah State University has been redesigned, with the addition of several new features.
Released with the new features on Aug. 12, users of the USU Mobile App will now find: a USU Directory feature; a Map My Class feature; a calendar of campus events; a live tracker of the Aggie Shuttle; a Merrill-Crazier Library study room scheduler; the season schedules of Aggie athletic teams; a display of the number of available computers in each campus computer lab; a Campus Cam; Aggie Dining menus and links to campus news.
The university’s original app was created four years ago but has seen major redesign at the hands of USU Information Technology, or IT, over the last two years. The app, which is available on Android and Apple operating systems, was downloaded 140 times the first day of its release.
Before this recent development, USU IT invited an advisory board of students, faculty and staff to brainstorm what features the app would have; the features were then ranked by importance and feasibility.
Kevin Reeve of USU IT said the process was designed with students and those who frequent campus in mind.
“What was cool about (the process) was there were things that rose to the top (of the list),” Reeve said. “One of those was the bus schedule. Another important one from students was study room scheduling. That wouldn’t have even been on our radar.”
Reeve said Map My Class, one of the app’s most notable new features, is unique to USU.
“We have not seen that in any other schools’ mobile apps,” he said. “You could find one where you can pull up a map of the buildings…But not, as a student, be able to log in and see your class schedule.”
USU IT hoped to release Map My Class last January, but a new interface had to be designed that would be cohesive with Banner. Reeve said it was a long process to get it just right.
“We were very fortunate,” he said. “We have building information in Banner then we have latitude and longitude coordinates (of all the buildings) thanks to the university webmaster. We were able to merge that data and make it happen.”
Dave Manoa of USU IT, who worked on the app’s redesign, said there are several other features the advisory board had suggested that may be implemented in the future; one of those is a Cache Valley Transit schedule for students commuting off campus. Another feature would display the number of available parking spaces in Big Blue Terrace. But it’s a matter of designing an interface compatible with existing systems. Reeve said it takes time, but it’s a possibility for the future.
“We encourage every student to download and use it and provide ideas because there’s someone out there with an idea that we haven’t thought of that could be valuable.”
Brigham Young University’s mobile app has a feature that displays what snacks are available in the vending machines on campus. Reeve said this data gathering was an inspiration for the computer lab tracking feature; if there is live data available, it can be used in a mobile app.
“Since USU IT are stewards over open access labs, we know there are times when computers aren’t available,” he said. “Its not a valuable feature every day of the week, but you can pull up the app and see how many computers are available (during the busy times of the semester).”
Most feedback about the app has been through Twitter and Reeve said he hopes students will continue to provide feedback so the app can become even better. Users can submit feedback using the developer link in the app or through the platform used to download it.
Twitter: @perkins_manda