By Emily Wiley, Editor-in-Chief
The university launched a new tool to help students engage with the campus community.
The new Oklahoma City University app was launched Feb. 17. The app has had 549 downloads from the Apple Store and between 100 and 500 downloads from GooglePlay, as of presstime.
“So far we have gotten really good feedback from students,” said Sandy Pantlik, senior director of university communications. “We wanted to make sure that it had all the modules that students and users would want to use.
The app connects to the campus master calendar, D2L, BlueLink, and StarCards.
Users also can view the university’s Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter.
“The app offers some fun things as well as some things to keep us safe around campus and the surrounding community,” Pantlik said.
Another feature is the emergency module where users can directly call 911 or campus police.
“The app was the brainchild of Student Government Association at the end of Spring 2014 semester when they wanted to bring something to the campus community that would help them engage more,” Pantlik said.
Brainstorming and building the app followed the next few months with a committee of students, faculty, marketing staff, and the company who produced the app, Straxis, who designs and builds apps specifically for schools.
The project cost a one-time fee of $13,000.
The app also gives an inside look to campus life for prospective students to view and helps them make their decision to come to OCU for their college career.
“They can see all the many thing going on here,” Pantlik said. “They can also access the campus tour and our photography.”
Officials are open to ideas from students who might like to change or add a module, Pantlik said.
“I like the app,” said Danielle Peterson, music theater sophomore. “It is easy to find out what is going on on campus and look at other things around campus.”
The app is free on the Apple Store and GooglePlay.
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