SA app to prove effective if cautiously executed

The Student Association’s Student Engagement Committee is making advances in both technology and peer outreach with the creation of an original application.

Student Engage, a smartphone and web app, will allow committee members and the Syracuse University administration to send one or more survey questions a day to students’ phones. It will also include a page on which all campus events will be featured.

Though the application method will improve the organization’s effectiveness and efficiency, SA might face difficulty in encouraging students to download the app to their phones.

To combat this issue, the Student Engagement Committee should work diligently to promote the technology. While keeping within the organization’s bylaws, members must devise a plan to get students involved. This could include an event on the Quad, handing out fliers or an actual incentive.

Sawyer Cresap, a member of the Student Engagement Committee, said the committee’s goal is to integrate the app into the university community at the start of the fall semester, beginning with freshman orientation.

First-year students come to campus looking for information about the university. SA has an opportunity to make the app successful by heavily targeting them upon arrival to campus.

Though this app is undoubtedly an efficient way to connect with students, members should be cautious about the app’s execution. Regarding the frequency of questions, members should ensure they are not too overbearing. If this issue was to arise, students may not continue providing feedback.

This app will successfully increase SA’s presence on campus, but the execution must be well planned to ensure this technology is used to its fullest potential.