From campus management systems and e-learning platforms to email clients, library services, event calendars and tools for room booking, sports classes, grades and news – the requirements of the various user groups at a college or university are diverse. The same applies to the IT systems needed to support these processes digitally. The driving forces and architects behind these system landscapes are the IT departments or central IT services.
The reality at many universities: fragmentation, a flood of support requests and shadow IT
IT departments are not only responsible for developing and implementing their own systems and evaluating suitable third-party applications, but also for IT security, maintenance, upkeep and user support across the entire system landscape. It is a constant balancing act between digital development and ensuring day-to-day operations. Combined with constant support requests, frustration on the part of users and providers, and the constant emergence of new external tools, the work of IT departments is an extremely complex and time-consuming task.
High efforts, complex systems - that's a virtual university campus. - Photo: Flipsnack, UnsplashA virtual campus on your smartphone
Ever since everyday student and university life has increasingly been organised via smartphones, the question has arisen as to how the wide variety of digital systems can be efficiently consolidated and presented in a simplified manner. After all, fragmented campus systems entail significant financial, staffing and time costs for universities. And as student satisfaction and a university’s competitiveness grow in importance, campus apps are increasingly being used as consolidating platforms.
Using a campus app, a university’s IT department provides digital access to the university campus: optimised for mobile use and accessible to all students and staff. The intuitive design enhances the user experience, allowing users to navigate with ease through the various university systems that were previously only accessible via a PC. Important information that needs to be available even without internet access – such as a digital ID card – can be stored in the smartphone’s secure cache on request. This ensures that students and university staff are prepared for all eventualities.
IT departments can achieve less effort and greater satisfaction with a campus app. This is because the campus app not only reduces the need for time-consuming user support – in the case of Studo’s campus app, for example, the Studo team handles all user support – but also increases the usage rate of the university’s own systems and the satisfaction of students and staff.
Increased student satisfaction thanks to campus apps
The range of courses on offer in the tertiary sector is growing steadily, whilst student numbers are stagnating – this has led to a fierce competition for new students in recent years. To remain competitive and promote their courses, universities are highlighting the various benefits students enjoy at their institution: From international networks and work experience during studies to blended learning and personalised professional development – they strive to highlight exactly the right benefits for all potential students.
Find all infos for studying in the campus-app. - Photo: Vitaly Gariev, UnsplashUniversities can also score points by offering a great student experience and making it easier to organise their studies. With a campus app, students can quickly find their way around the university, organise their modules efficiently and stay up to date with the latest news from the university.
The Studo Campus App has been at the cutting edge for 10 years and has been named the top-rated campus app across the DACH region for the fifth year running. The app is used as the official campus app at over 60 universities and makes everyday life easier for over 500,000 students and university staff. Not only can the Campus App be integrated quickly and easily into a university’s existing IT infrastructure, but it also requires no additional maintenance or support from the university’s IT department. When it comes to data protection, the university retains full control over all data at all times; furthermore, Studo ensures compliance with the GDPR and WCAG accessibility standards, as confirmed by independent and regular TÜV SÜD certification – you can find more information here.
Student's personal companion – for all (emergency) situations
Did you know that a campus app supports students and university staff in their day-to-day lives – even in emergencies? Through Critical Push Notifications, which immediately alert app users in the event of an emergency, the campus app becomes a logical extension of incident management.
Get to know Studo’s Campus App in a demo or find out more about the application here.
