Campus Connect goes mobile with new student engagement app
The Office for Student Leadership and Involvement has launched a new Campus Connect mobile app, giving students an easier way to discover events, connect with student organizations and stay up to date on opportunities across campus.
Campus Connect serves as the University of Utah’s official student engagement platform. Through Campus Connect, students can explore Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs), discover and RSVP for events, and earn badges that reflect their engagement throughout their time at the U.
The move to a mobile app comes in direct response to student feedback about the Campus Connect website, according to Cassie Zamora-Cathcart, director of Student Leadership and Involvement.
“One of the biggest pieces of feedback from students was that while they enjoy Campus Connect, it is hard to navigate on their phones as a web page,” Zamora-Cathcart said.
The app provides a more mobile-friendly experience while introducing features such as push notifications and event reminders. It also allows for improved event management and faster check-ins for students attending events hosted by RSOs and campus departments.
“The move to an app also improves event management and makes check-ins faster for students attending events, improving the overall Campus Connect experience,” Zamora-Cathcart said.
Beyond helping students find ways to get involved, Campus Connect also plays an important role in helping Student Affairs better understand student engagement across the U.
Event attendance captured through Campus Connect feeds into the Student Engagement Dashboard, developed in partnership with University Analytics & Institutional Reporting (UAIR). The dashboard allows Student Affairs to track overall attendance, identify participation patterns across student populations and explore the relationship between engagement and student persistence.
Early findings are encouraging. Among first-year students, 96% who engaged with Student Affairs programs returned the following spring, compared with 92% of students who did not participate. The following fall, 88% of engaged students returned, compared with 78% of non-engaged students.
While causation cannot be inferred from the findings, they help Student Affairs better understand the relationship between student engagement and long-term student success.
The Campus Connect app is available now through the Apple App Store and Google Play.