The E-town Jays app is a relatively new addition to the lives of Elizabethtown College students, faculty and staff, prospective students and visitors.
The app has many different “tiles” that contain information about aspects of student life and the campus in general, such as service, clubs & organizations and residence life.
It also has a “wall” where students can post whatever is on their minds. Students have the option to post on specific channels such as the student Feed, Buy and Sell, and Lost and Found.
The app also has a QR code scanner, so students are able to “check-in” to events held on campus.
But how popular is the app? User statistics provided by Student Information Systems & Starfish Coordinator Michelle Henry are quite telling. All numbers are approximate.
Since the app has been available for use, there have been about 23,000 club views, and around 11,000 event views. In order, the top five most “checked-in” events are “Tower of Screams,” “Celebrity Edition Bingo,” “Homecoming Family Dessert Night,” “The Price Is Right” and “Home Improvement Bingo.”
All of these events also received good ratings on the app. Overall, there have been 3,300 event check-ins with 86 percent feedback return on the app.
What exactly is most popular on the app? It depends on who you ask.
The most visited tiles on the app for faculty and staff are Events, Student Resources and Clubs and Organizations.
The most visited for students are Laundry Facilities, Dining and Events. The most visited for visitors are Admissions, Take Flight and Events.
In regards to social activity, there have been around 1,200 posts on the wall, 14,000 likes, 2,000 private messages and 1,400 comments.
But, of course, statistics never tell the entire story. What do the students themselves think of the app?
Etownian staff writer Shaye Lynn DiPasquale said in an email that she believes that the app is a “very cool idea to help Etown community members connect with each other in an easy to use manner.” She said she also really enjoys the Lost and Found channel on the student feed.
Junior Hannah Paymer believes that the app is underutilized.
“It has more potential and ability than we’re currently using it for,” she said in an email. She wants the app to “expand what it is currently doing to encompass more things.”
Junior Amber Swanick has a different opinion. “I think it is a good idea to connect Etown students with each other in a positive way using social media,” she began. “However, I do not believe the Jays app has achieved that.”
“A lot of students don’t know what to do with the app, and some hateful memes and comments have surfaced,” Swanick said. “Some people try to find roommates or textbooks on the app, but there are already other platforms for that.”
All three students do not check the app frequently, citing that they usually only check it when they receive a notification.
Both Swanick and Paymer also recommended that the app improve how it displays menus for Dining Services.
Overall, the E-town Jays app has been popular among students, and will hopefully experience technical improvements soon. Therefore, it is crucial that students provide feedback in order to help the app reach its full potential.
