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University transforms student services with app platform innovation


University of Maryland launches its own app store platform to modernize campus service delivery.

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Consider it almost like Amazon, but for staff and student services on campus.

According to the University of Maryland, which has partnered with rSmart and Internet2, the University will provide access to approximately 130 campus services in one location, from any computer or mobile device.

With search and app-store-like features, the newly launched platform aims to simplify access to services ranging from class registration to email and replicates the communication capabilities and online shopping experiences people are accustomed to using.

“The central question of the cloud-based solution is ‘What would you like to do?,’ and it offers UMD’s more than 37,000 students and 9,000 faculty and staff one-stop shopping for Web apps and services, the ability to personalize their view by picking favorites, opportunities to provide service feedback–including the option to rank UMD services with stars–and more,” said a University spokesperson in a statement.

(Next page: The new platform’s features; building the future of campus services)

The new platform, One.UMD replaces the MyUMD portal, with the goal of enhancing access to University services provided by the Office of the Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost, the Division of Student Affairs, the Division of Information Technology, and others.

“We are partnering throughout the university to give Maryland students, faculty, and staff a central location where they can quickly search and connect with university services ranging from making transcript requests to getting the campus map in an online marketplace format,” said University of Maryland Vice President and CIO Eric Denna.

UMD’s Division of Information Technology will continue to work with UMD partners to include additional university services on the new platform. rSmart’s OneCampus is available to the University of Maryland and to all of Internet2’s higher education members as part of Internet2’s NET+ initiative.

The decision to create the new platform also came as the University realized smartphone and tablet use continues to rise, and needed an efficient way to organize its Web-based services. UMD says that OneCampus offers the ability to collect “valuable user feedback to help further strengthen university service offerings and the ways those services are delivered.”

Maryland was first introduced to the OneCampus solution in its role as a participant in Internet2 NET+. UMD joined technology leaders from Indiana University, the University of Utah, the University of Pittsburgh, Clemson University, the University of Nebraska Omaha, and Brigham Young University-Idaho to collaboratively guide and shape the Internet2 NET+ OneCampus offering for higher education institutions.

“After completing the Internet2 NET+ service validation process, we recognized that OneCampus has the potential to transform how we deliver application services to our stakeholders,” said Denna. “The modern platform and search functionality will allow our campus community to quickly find and access a wide range of services and applications from any device.”

Representatives from the seven Internet2 NET+ service validation participant institutions will serve as OneCampus advisory board members to provide input on market trends and the product roadmap to Internet2 and rSmart. This collaboration aims to ensure that OneCampus meets the needs of higher education institutions today and into the future.

rSmart CEO Tony Potts concluded, “For many years, Maryland has been recognized as an innovator and leader in higher education. rSmart gained valuable feedback from UMD during the Internet2 NET+ service validation process, and we look forward to working closely with their team to develop best practices and enhancements for OneCampus in the future.”

Material from a press release was used in this report.

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