In the next few months, the University will be rolling out a new campus map in collaboration with CampusBird that will include features like a virtual tour and integration into the new LSU app.
The funding for the new map comes from a partnership between LSU Student Government and the Office of Risk Management.
“We knew we wanted to get the app off the ground first,” SG president Zack Faircloth said. “Once we had that, I started working with [Division of Strategic Communications] and from the [Parking & Transportation Services] office, Jeff Campbell, to identify some pools of money that we could get this map on to campus.”
The University has been attempting to collaborate on an updated map with CampusBird for a few years, which was the No. 1 request for the new app from SG’s Freshman Leadership Council, Faircloth said.
In February, SG discovered the Risk Management account, which is controlled by the Office of Risk Management but funded by the University’s Athletics Department. For every home game, the Athletics Department puts in $4,000.
“I hadn’t thought of that before simply because the math didn’t really add up to pay for a $40,000 map,” Faircloth said. “It turned out we had some money pooled up in there.”
SG was able to use the Risk Management account to cover the entirety of the initial $42,500 cost to create the map. Future annual costs will be covered by the Division of Strategic Communications, Faircloth said.
According to CampusBird, there is an eight to 10-week implementation period during which the map is rendered and created, meaning the new map is slated for release this summer.
“There is a lot of opportunity here,” Faircloth said. “[There are] a lot of different features, and we made sure we got the best possible product to allow us to use all those features.”
The new features included on the app will include an interactive 3-D map, a virtual tour, notations for campus landmarks and navigation system, among others.
Because the CampusBird map will not be finished when the new LSU app is released on March 30, an older version of the campus map will be integrated into the app in the meantime.
“Come, hopefully, the end of May, when that eight to 10 week timeline runs up, we’ll be able to instantly and seamlessly put that map up,” Faircloth said. “CampusBird has worked with Modo Labs in the past so it should be really easy.”
If students want a taste of what the new app with full map integration will look like, Faircloth suggests checking out Texas A&M University’s app which was created by Modo Labs and features a map created by CampusBird.