Student Government President Jonathan Kaufman recently detailed his plans to create a university-wide mobile app for iPhone and Android. The proposed app would provide a single place to access the campus directory, course catalogue and athletics schedules, among other features.
The app offers no new services in and of itself. However, the convenience it would provide makes the app a worthwhile endeavor. It would likely be particularly helpful to freshmen that might not know where to find some pieces of information.
Apps like this are also increasingly common among similar universities. Every other school in the SEC, with the exception of the University of Arkansas, has a similar app. Clemson does as well. A university-wide app has been proven to work not just in a few cases, but frequently and well enough that they have become nearly universal for large Southeastern universities.
The university has previously had success with several apps for Student Health Services, USCPD and the athletics department. Students have demonstrated a willingness to use other apps, and there is no reason they would not use one that's even more expanded.
However, given the nature of the app it seems odd that the university itself has not already created one, instead leaving the task for Student Government to finally pursue. Since the costs are relatively high and the timeline fairly long, Student Government leadership seems less than ideal.
Regardless of how it is coming in to existence, the university-wide mobile app is a welcome development that is sure to provide convenience to the student body.