MC launches new app for campus community

Sept. 24, 2020

Maryville College has an app for that.

On Thursday, Maryville College launched a new mobile application for current students, faculty and staff that is available for free download and will help the campus community stay connected and informed.

“We began exploring the need for a mobile app a few years ago and are really pleased to have partnered with School Info App, an award-winning global mobile app developer, for this service,” said Karen Beaty Eldridge ’94, Executive Director for Marketing & Communications. “In this era of COVID-19, when we cannot build and sustain our community in the usual ways, tools like this app, which boosts engagement, can be very useful.”

Eldridge said that mobile app (accessible from iOS and Android devices) and the web app (accessible from any web-enabled device) will make access to College-related information and people incredibly quick and easy.

Specifically, the Maryville College app provides one-click access to directories, calendars and important documents and forms published on the College’s website. With the new app, students also can access College-specific programs like the Tartan online learning system, the Scots Health telehealth program and the Self-Service portal for class registration, grades and bill payments.

“Users have the option of signing up for alerts related to content they’re interested in, such as athletics. And with the Conversations feature, faculty and staff can instantly chat directly with individual students or, similar to a group messaging platform, create groups to share information with a class, club or team,” Eldridge said. “We believe our campus community will find these features really helpful.”

Push notifications allow administrators to communicate important news and announcements (like weather-related closings) to everyone with the app in real time, the executive director added. Notifications can be targeted to specific groups, as well.

Compatible with a comprehensive suite of native iOS and Android accessibility settings and design features, the Maryville College app is designed to accommodate people with a wide range of special needs. It also gives users the option to have content translated into one of 35 languages.

“It’s a very robust app, and we will continue to develop it throughout the 2020-2021 academic year,” Eldridge said. “We began working with School Info App developers in early August and have made a lot of progress in learning how to use their platform, brand the app with College logos and messaging, and make the basic features operational.

“In the coming months, our plan is to add more content, turn on more features and encourage the MC community to rely on the app for news and updates.”

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”