Software company Ellucian provides STLCC with Ellucian GO for students to better access campus resources
By: BRITTNEY FARROW
Staff Writer
On Sept. 2, St. Louis Community College students received an email from the Public Information and Marketing Department encouraging them to download a newly-implemented mobile application called Ellucian GO. The email states that the app – provided through education and the training software company Ellucian – will allow all STLCC students to access important college resources from devices such as their cell phones and tablets.
Amongst the many promised features included in the program is the ability to access grades, courses and class schedules.
The application, which has a layout similar to many mainstream social media ports such as Facebook, will also provide registered users with one-click access to the contact information of their professors, as well as any other campus information they might require.
The software aims to be as user-friendly as possible, and accomplishes that with easily-navigated points of interest.
Despite the fact that the application has only been available for download for no more than a few days, Ellucian’s partnership with the college has been established for many years. Associate VC of Information Technology at the Cosand Center Dr. Craig Klimczak said the application’s role in campus life, in particular, is a plan that has been in motion for several months.
Klimczak said the college began to consider advocating for one of Ellucian’s GO apps in early 2013.
“We started with the college’s leadership team back in April. The application was purchased [by the college] in June of 2013,” Klimczak said.
Klimczak said due to the nature of the project, it took a year to get organized. The Ellucian Company has been providing institutions of higher education with technology services for almost half a decade. According to their website, Ellucian presently collaborates with 2,400 higher education institutes across 40 different countries. As for why they ever began developing a mobile app, Klimczak said he believes it comes down to how technology is evolving.
“Ellucian provides Banner Self-Service. The company knew they had to go mobile,” he said.
Today, the company behind STLCC’s new GO mobile application is responsible for three systems: Colleague, PowerCampus and Banner.
To log into Ellucian GO, students only need their current mySTLCC email and password. Once STLCC is selected from the large list of educational institutions, a tap in the upper-left hand corner opens up a series of navigational commands sorted into six separate categories: Academics, Student Resources, Contact Information, Maps, Social Media and Actions.
The Academics section provides students with all of the information they need to stay on track. From there they can access their grades, see their academic calendar, and even receive important notifications. Most closely related to this is the Student Resources section, which allows the user access to Blackboard, their library account and their my.stlcc email.
Contact information contains everything a student would need to stay updated with the college; they have access to the directory, news and an event calendar which maps out scheduled speakers and workshops.
For students interested in campus sports, there is also a direct link to a well-updated list of stories pertaining to the Archers.
When envisioning how the Ellucian GO application would be incorporated into the STLCC culture, Klimczak said the staff had only the students in mind.
“It was an attractive idea,” Klimczak said. “We wanted students to keep up with technology through mobile devices. Mobile is convenient. In your pocket you have a device that gives you a whole range of information at your fingertips.”
The application is already a popular download in the Apple iOS market, and has a four-star rating underneath its belt.
Klimczak said the developer hopes to provide an update which will soon allow students to register for their courses completely through the app – a feature that could steadily change the way in which colleges and universities across the country have students enroll.
“It’s extremely obvious that the college is going to have to use technology to keep up,” Klimczak said.
The Ellucian GO Mobile application is available through the Apple iOS, Android and Kindle market. It is free to download and install, but carrier charges may apply.
