Auburn University introduces new app, Auburn Guides

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Auburn University and the mobile app, Guidebook, have partnered together to bring students a new app, Auburn Guides, as a way to centralize campus information.

With 12 departments and organizations on board, Auburn Guides is the first mobile app to allow students, faculty, families and fans access to the resources of their choice in one tap of a finger.

These include Academic Support Services, Auburn Global, Career Center, First Year Experience, Parent and Family Programs, Parking Services, Student Conduct, Student Government Association, Student Organizations, University Housing and Residence Life, University Program Council and Welcome Week.

“Each of these varying departments and campus organizations has a guide within Auburn Guides that allows specific information to be told about that specific unit,” said John Michael Roehm, the director of Auburn Guides.

Jackie Young, marketing director for Auburn Guides, says Auburn Guides is a great resource that has a lot of information in one place. “Nothing that is on the guide is necessarily new information, but it puts it all in one place, which is really nice to have on your phone because you don’t have to go through websites and search,” Young said.

Holding commonly referenced student handbooks and regulations, the app also brings interactive elements including organization’s event calendars and tailored to-do lists.

“The schedule is our most popular feature,” said Young. “You can choose to attend 10 of the 200 events planned that week and set an alarm to remind you of them. They will also send out push notifications when plans change directly to your phone.”

Camp War Eagle has been a driving force in promoting Auburn Guides, requiring all freshmen and transfer students to download it in order to access camp content.

“Camp War Eagle helped us tremendously,” said Young. “Students are more inclined to think of Auburn Guides after being exposed to it at camp. Perhaps this will lead to them exploring the career center or checking out what UPC has planned for the week, and ideally it will become their source for campus information.”

All guides within the app are also available online, allowing students without smart phones the same access to a central location.

“In general, we hope students will explore what all Auburn Guides has to offer because there’s tons of useful information on there and it really is an extension of people’s website,” said Roehm.

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.