LSU Student Government, along with the computer science department, the University’s Division of Strategic Communications and Modo Labs, launched the new LSU app on March 24 in the Android and iOS app stores.
The advertising campaign was pushed out on March 30 featuring the slogan “Campus at your Fingertips.”
“It’s substantially different,” SG president Zack Faircloth said. “It’s definitely more visually appealing [and] it’s definitely easier to navigate.”
The functionality makes it necessary only to have one app, as opposed to 10 different ones, because the new LSU app has the ability to perform a variety of functions, Faircloth said.
The LSU app’s features range from campus services through Tapingo and TransLoc to scheduling time with an academic advisor. Users can also access Moodle, their Tiger Card information, a calendar of upcoming campus events and athletic news.
Also included on the app is the ability to specify what the user’s role is relating to the University, which gives the user access to specific features they might need.
“I think that’s one of the most interesting aspects of this new app,” SG presidential press secretary Jayce Genco said. “They call it a ‘Persona.’ If you’re a guest, a student or an alumnus, you can choose that [‘Persona’] when you open up the app, and that gives you all the apps that are necessary to your visit here.”
Faircloth notes that these “Personas” are also customizable and users can move around, add or remove specific app features based on what they find most useful.
All the features currently seen are in phase one. Slated for a summer release, many additional features will be added in phase two.
“Everything that is seen on the front end is managed somewhere on the back end,” Faircloth said. “Part of the beauty of Modo Labs is we can go in and make changes any time.”
In order for change to occur, Faircloth urges all users to submit feedback on functionality that should be in the app, as well as what features users do and do not like about the app.
There is a module inside the app for users to give feedback, which will take users to an email address to be sent to the app’s developers.
Current feedback for the app, while not nearly as much as SG would like, has been a mix of good and bad with highlights on the Moodle and Tiger Cards platforms and some complaints about the map, Faircloth said.
While the past year was spent creating the app, the next few months will be spent on expanding the app’s functionality, Faircloth said.
Future features will include the new map developed by CampusBird, integration of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, scantron availability, dining hall hours, appealing football and parking tickets and much more.
“It’s our hope that over the summer … [departments] make it a priority to make the app a part of what they do in their particular departments,” Faircloth said.