The app includes an admissions module, with links to Maryville’s application and requirements; a video module that is integrated with the university’s YouTube channel, featuring short video clips that tell the institution’s story; a social media module that pulls together all of Maryville’s social media channels in one place; and an athletics module that features scores, statistics, and other information to help users follow Maryville’s sports teams.
Those who download the app can configure it so they receive only the information they want, allowing them to engage with the university in a much more personalized way, Lenore-Jenkins said.
“This is the Amazon generation; students want [information that is] customized to them,” she explained.
The university’s goal is to release new features for the app on a monthly basis, trying out these innovations to see how well they are received.
“Our best focus group is right on campus,” she added: “our students.”
Laundry availability? There’s an app for that
Like Maryville’s new app, SIU’s Mobile Dawg initiative is intended to attract more students, and in the program’s first year, the results seem promising so far: Enrollment is up 13 percent this fall.
But enrollment is just one indicator of the program’s success, Crain said. Officials also hope to boost student retention and improve learning outcomes.
“We’ve found that many students go the whole semester without buying textbooks,” Crain said. Offering digital versions that students can read on their tablets anytime, anywhere, not only appeals more to this generation of learners, he said; it’s also saving freshmen an average of $270 in textbook costs.
Originally, SIU officials thought they would give iPads to incoming students. But they quickly realized that students would want to be able to multitask, run Flash-based video and graphics, and operate familiar Office programs on their devices.
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