BY TUCKER REILLY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The “SBU Connect” app is getting a makeover. The campus activities software, which has drawn a mixed reception from students over the past several years, will be undergoing a complete rework over the summer.
Rob DeFazio, Bonaventure’s associate dean for student life, explained the motivation for this change.
“We were notified really early this year that the company we partnered with has been bought out and that a new company was going to sunset them, meaning by the end of next year the app would no longer be available,” said DeFazio. “So rather than waiting, we started looking at companies and vendors to get some demos with them. Ready Education was the one that we liked the best and it fit well the needs of our students.”
Students active on campus use a number of apps regularly, such as “IMLeagues” for intramural sports. The current SBU Connect app is used for event announcements and RSVPs – including tickets for sporting events such as Men’s Basketball games. DeFazio emphasized the preservation of this core utility, while adding to its scope through the consolidation of other services.
“The listing of events and the details of the events will be much more on there and easier to track,” said DeFazio. “You’ll have access to Moodle through the app. The other apps that we use will be integrated, such as the Bona Bus, Handshake for people looking for a job, IMLeagues and the one we use for Richter Center employees. The athletic department will also be developing a new system for ticketing.”
The final addition to SBU Connect is a social one, allowing students to join groups and chat rooms.
“They can be broken up by club, organization, floor team, whatever group you may have,” said DeFazio. “You’re not worrying about setting up a GroupMe, a text ring or going through email. We do that for a whole building or – for example – sports teams. And when you log in, you use your SBU credential, so it’s gotta be a Bonas person and people know who you are. At the same time, it can’t be like Yik Yak, where you can bash somebody and hide behind it, because your name and email and all of that is right out there.
With development already underway, the university plans to roll out use of the new app over the summer. Students who already have SBU Connect downloaded will receive an update.
“The goal is to launch on June 1,” said DeFazio. “The main thing right now is building content and stuff on the platform. [We’re adding] the names of our clubs and organizations, things of that nature; tech service has been working on this for months. We’ll have a lot of training over the summer because it’s a lot thrown at us at one time but the biggest thing will be orientation. Chris Brown will use the app for orientation, as he has for the last few years. For returners, there’s probably not going to be a whole lot of reason to get on until it’s almost time to come back to school.”
reillyt19@bonaventure.edu
