SHUMobile is a mobile app designed by Seton Hall that allows students to look at their course schedules, track the SHUFLY and read course catalogs.
[caption id="attachment_25128" align="alignnone" width="4032"]
Amanda Courtney/Staff Photographer[/caption]
“SHUMobile provides access to many University services for students. Schedules, checking grades, discussion posts, assignments, maps, and so much more,” Paul Fisher, associate chief information officer, said. “It makes navigating these services easier on a smartphone than using a browser on a device.”
Fisher said the app was released in 2009 and has seen major updates over the last nine years to make sure the app meets the everyday needs of a student.
Fisher discussed the common suggestions made to him by other students. “Students continually ask us to incorporate more student social events,” he said. “We are working with various parties around campus to ensure that student-focused events are highlighted and easily accessed in the app, so students know what is happening on the campus.”
Some of the features of the app include a section for campus events which highlights sporting events, workshops and online events. There is also a campus news section, which displays articles pertaining to people on campus and other events.
Several students said that there is room for improvement in the app.
Genevieve Cox, a freshman biology major, said she mainly uses the app to track the SHUFLY, check the status of her laundry and where she is in her classes. “They should send out Dunkin updates when the latte machine is down,” Cox said.
Some students said they suggest fixing the problem of timing accuracy, while some said that the timing of the app is delayed, not updating consistently or “just off.”
“The timing of laundry and the SHUFLY should be accurate,” Keegan France, a freshman international relations major, said. “It should not be five minutes early for laundry. The app should account for driver breaks so I don’t have to wait half an hour to go somewhere.”
France’s comments were echoed by Cox and Drake Garner, a freshman business math major, who said the app is slow. “The app is delayed,” Garner said. “Sometimes the app will say two minutes and then I will wait 15 and then it will come.”
“The look and feel of the app was one of the places where students gave us a lot of feedback,” Fisher said. “For example, quick and easy access to the laundry services was an important piece of feedback from the students we worked with.”
When launching the app, the user is directed to a screen that opens to several shortcuts which includes the course catalog, a map and a general search bar. Fisher said the home screen is customizable “so that the information that is valuable to you can be at your fingertips.”
Cox said, “Sometimes, the app can be more harmful than helpful, especially when you’re depending on it to get places.”
Jason Maryeski can be reached at jason.maryeski@student.shu.edu.
Comments
