UWindsor provides new level of student service by launching mobile app

May 17th, 2012

The University of Windsor is bringing student service to a new level with a mobile app to help students do everything from check their grades to find a place to eat on campus – all in the palm of their hands.

Compatible with iPhone, BlackBerry and Android technology, the myUWindsor app provides mobile access to all the web-based services and information students would typically access on the University’s home page, through the student portal and the Collaboration and Learning Environment Windsor (CLEW) learning management system.

The app will enjoy a formal launch during the opening of Campus Technology Day, today — Thursday, May 17 — in the CAW Student Centre.

Among the services and information students will now be able to access through their phones are:

capability to review courses, schedules, grades and exams
update financial information on their accounts, including their UWinCARDS and meal plans
ability to receive direct messages from professors and course instructors
a campus map which will allow them to search for specific buildings
check out menus and daily specials at the Market Place Cafe
get updates on Lancer sports
gain access to such social media sites as the UWindsor’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and Twitter feed
ability to listen to CJAM, the University’s campus radio station

“It is a priority for the University of Windsor to enhance the student experience with a wide variety of convenient services,” said UWindsor president Alan Wildeman. “Our IT and Public Affairs and Communications departments have been hard at work over the past several months working on the development and launch of this new tool that gives you access to many campus services right in the palm of your hand. It's a powerful way of keeping our students, staff, faculty, visitors and alumni in touch with all the exciting things happening at their university.”

A free download, the new app was created with a great deal of feedback from students, who were involved in focus groups to test it out as it was being developed, according to John Powell, director of Web communications.

“We asked students how they used their phones and about what kinds of services we could offer them, so the app is really a response to their wants and needs,” he said.

Powell has scheduled sessions to introduce members of the faculty and staff to the app as well.

“Although it isn’t intended for them, they will need to understand how it works so they can address any concerns brought to them,” he said. “We’ll also discuss ways they can communicate with the student users and populate this new interface with their departmental information, news and events.”

No pre-registration is required for the three sessions: