Newswise — In what may be the first of its kind in the country, Columbus State University in Georgia has created a cell phone and PDA application that allows students real-time access to academic and financial aid information, as well events around campus.
Programmers in Columbus State University's Office of Information and Technology Services have been working for months to interface Google Apps for mobile devices with the university’s Student Information System.
With the new Columbus State Mobile Apps, students can now use any Web-browser enabled cell phone to securely view:
• Student account information, such as amount owed, refunds available or account holds• Student academic information, such as GPA, adviser contact and grades • Schedule of classes• Required admissions documents, such as financial aid and immunization• Student activities • Athletic events• Campus shuttle bus schedule• Campus map
“Our ultimate goal is to duplicate all of the services that we now provide to students through our university portal; by doing so students will literally have all of Columbus State University’s services on hand at all times,” said Robert Diveley, executive director of operations at Columbus State University's Office of Information and Technology Services.
Diveley said discussions with colleagues around the country have led him to believe Columbus State may be the first university to put together a mobile application portfolio of this extent.
Google Enterprise BLOG asked Diveley be its guest blogger this week about the new application, and both he and Columbus State University Chief Information Officer Abraham George will speak about our experiences at a Google reception during the national Educause Conference in Denver on Nov. 5.
Columbus State started using Google Apps Education Edition in early 2009 and has successfully implemented campus-wide Gmail and calendars and is using Google’s power behind several other sites and applications.
”We’re excited to see Columbus State integrating Google Apps into their mobile student services,’ said Gabe Cohen, Product Manager, Google Apps Education. “This new suite of mobile apps will give students more convenient options to access information important to them.”
Diveley said the mobile apps project was a natural progression of the Google technology, and is designed to help with a problem many universities are facing.
“One challenge for Columbus State University, as with many universities in today’s economy, is student enrollment is increasing while budgets remain flat. Therefore staffing to handle the influx has not been able to keep pace with demand,” Diveley said. “By offering information live through a cell phone or PDA, we hope add to our customer service capabilities, providing Columbus State students access to their most current university information.
George, the university’s chief information officer, pointed out that while the state budget has been stagnant, the students have embraced the new technologies that Columbus State has introduced and, in fact, voted to raise the student technology fee to bring the best technology experiences to campus.
The Mobile Apps project is yet another way that University Office of Information and Technology Services (UITS) is enacting the university’s new strategic plan, George said. The strategic plan calls specifically for developing a best-in-class technology platform and information-based services, as well as identifying partnerships/alliances with world-class technology enterprises. Both are accomplished with Google’s backing of the Columbus State University’s Mobile Apps project, George said.
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