Boxer Mobile is back. It is live, public and in the app store as of July 2018.
The new Boxer Mobile app helps students navigate Pacific University’s website and gives users an overview of Pacific’s four main campuses.
The app, which was pioneered by 2018 alumnus Dylan Welles, can be found by searching “Pacific University Oregon” in the app store.
From the app, students can access Boxer Online, Moodle, calendars, dining services schedules and even a list of local restaurants in the area. Pulling content from the Pacific website, Welles, and others who worked on the app, wanted to reduce the amount of time students spent searching for online resources. The result was a mobile hub that gives students the resources they need, right at their fingertips.
However, Boxer Mobile has not always been so clean. Previous launches of the app were met with frustration from students and staff. The lack of convenience, navigability and user-friendliness caused the app to become widely unused. With Pacific being one of the few universities to have a student-run app, the student tech team simply did not have the time to devote to Boxer Mobile.
Welles likens the work experience with previous versions of the app to buying a mansion without enough staff to do the maintenance work. Now, rather than being a mansion, Welles calls the app a house.
Boxer Mobile is a home that has plenty of room for growth. Unlike the previous version, this new Boxer Mobile is highly manageable and can be built upon and added to when needed. It is also now possible for multiple departments to access and update the Boxer Mobile app.
Undergraduate Student Senate Vice President of Communication Anthony Yamashiro, who works on the marketing of the app, urges students to step up and take an active role with Boxer Mobile. Students studying computer science, general media or graphic design can put their skills to use through work on the app.
“If there’s skepticism, negative feedback or ways to improve, then be that improvement,” Yamashiro said. “Tell us and be part of the team.”
What makes this new Boxer Mobile different from older versions of the app is its evolving platform.
Rather than being stagnant in its design and features, Boxer Mobile was programmed to listen to feedback and to use that feedback for self-improvement. Its success will lie in its ability to conform to the needs of the student body.
“We are hoping this time Boxer Mobile is here to stay,” Yamashiro said.
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