By Alex Rake (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: September 3, 2014
Campusgrids, a new app that aims to connect university students, is coming to UFV this fall. But its slogan, “Your campus app,” raises the question: what about the app we already have?
UFV’s Student Union Society (SUS) launched its own campus app, created by Oohlala, in fall 2013. The app enables students to save their class schedules, sell textbooks, find events and clubs on campus, get maps (handy for first year students), and connect with other students. It’s free for download, but costs SUS on a contractual basis.
Campusgrids is a similar app expanding its reach all the way from Ottawa to UFV. Its creator, Carleton University grad Elias Fares, said there is no fixed price currently if a school wants specific features (like what Oohlala offers), but if a student union wanted, it could pay for features which students could then access for free. However, there is no cost for schools to adopt the basic app, since most of the data such as class and club information is user-generated.
VP external Dylan Thiessen explained SUS’s intention in bringing the Oohlala app to UFV was not only to connect students to their campus, but to replace paper minutes and day planners.
Thiessen said SUS is unable to disclose the exact amount of the Oohlala contract, due to a confidentiality agreement, but noted the price is about the same cost as producing the free agendas the app is supposed to replace. SUS’s operating budget for the 2013/14 fiscal year allotted $20,000 to include both the limited printing of the free agenda and the app cost. In its first quarter financial report for the 2014/15 fiscal year, during which SUS is not printing free agendas, $16,000 is allotted to the student app and handbooks line. SUS apparently acquired Oohlala’s most expensive package for a low price.
The SUS app has had over 800 downloads so far. According to Thiessen, usage of Oohlala peaked in April with between 500 and 2,000 uses a week. Though usage dropped during the summer, those numbers are expected to pick up again when the fall semester begins, and increase.
Fares is aware of Campusgrids’ competition with Oohlala’s campus app.
“Their app is more between the student and the school; it helps you schedule your classes [and] see what’s going on at your school,” Fares said. “Campusgrids is more of a social app — there is more interaction between the students.”
Campusgrids features a “meet students” page, where users can browse through other students’ profiles to find people with similar interests and classes — they can then compare class schedules to find a good time to meet.
However, it may take some time for Campusgrids to gather momentum; it is still in the stages of recruiting ambassadors from each new school it adds, and currently has less UFV-specific data than the Oohlala app, which has been on campus longer.
