Gonzaga Mobile App

Gonzaga Mobile currently features the following profiles:

• Current Students (behind single-sign on)
• Faculty and Staff (behind single-sign on)
• Parents and Families
• New Student Orientation
• Visitors

Initial conversations about acquiring a mobile app started in September of 2020. A mobile app was the right decision for our population because students and staff are using their phones more consistently than checking emails, with Forbes reporting that 95% of texts are read within three minutes.

After receiving approval from the university Project Review Committee, GU announced a request for proposal (RFP). The RFP selection committee included representatives from IT, Student Affairs, Gonzaga Student Body Association, Marketing and Communications and Procurement. Two vendors came to campus and presented to students, faculty, and staff. The chosen vendor was CampusM- Ex Libris who started work January 11, 2022. The look of the app was driven by students who voted on the layout and graphics. Ryan Arneson, Sr. Product Designer in Marketing and Communications designed the unique Gonzaga themed header graphics for all profiles.

In conversations with current and incoming students the feedback for the app has been overwhelmingly positive. Students have told us the app is easy to navigate and they love the timesheets, maps and class schedule features.

In a pre-post experiment, we asked Gonzaga seniors to complete a series of tasks on their computer and then again on Gonzaga Mobile. In every instance, the amount of time for the student to complete the task decreased. For example, when asked to locate a list of student organizations, the time spent went from 4 minutes to 18 seconds. This was great news given that a major goal of the app was to reduce barriers to success and support.