LSU uses many mobile apps meant to assist students’ various needs on campus, like Navigate to schedule advising appointments and TransLoc Rider to see locations of TigerTrails busses. However, many students have found the apps more confusing than convenient.
According to the LSU Office of Retention and Student Success website, “Mobile apps are useful tools that will assist you in navigating campus, locating academic resources, discovering new study tools, and organizing your schedules and task lists.”
The Navigate app is used by students to find academic resources on campus, like creating study groups, viewing their class schedule, and most importantly, scheduling academic advising appointments, which usually can only be done through the app.
Mathematics freshman Khoa Dang knows of the other LSU apps, but only has LSU Mobile and Navigate downloaded. As a commuter student, Dang uses the LSU Mobile app to find parking around campus and Navigate to schedule advising appointments.
Dang believes the Navigate app has a simple layout, but has found that it doesn’t function properly at times, especially when he’s trying to schedule an advising appointment.
“The app’s not very refined. I got an appointment canceled on me one time from the app,” Dang said. “It bothers me a lot because I would like an app to work. As a busy college student, I don’t want more complications in my life from the college.”
Navigate isn’t the only app students complain about. Students who rely on TigerTrails buses to get to and around campus 
Students who rely on TigerTrails buses to get to and around campus can use the TransLoc Rider app, which is meant to show students the real-time location and arrival time of campus buses, as well as access announcements that might impact their ride.
Political communications senior Gabrielle Gremillion noticed that the app doesn’t accurately show bus locations.
“[TransLoc Rider] hasn’t really been working well this year, none of the buses are actually where they say they are on the map,” she said.
Gremillion believes the inaccuracy of the TransLoc Rider app has prevented her from downloading other apps offered by the university. “I don’t download more, because the one I do have is useless,” she said.
Gremillion also had a negative experience trying to use Navigate to schedule an advising appointment.
“I think for freshmen who have no idea what college or this campus is, there’s already so many things happening that downloading five apps that do five certain things can certainly overwhelm you,” Gremillion said. “It’s just so tedious and annoying to download all those apps, to remember what each one of them does.”

Gallery • 3 Photos

The LSU Mobile home screen.