Campus Quad: Your University Going Mobile

Abigail Dillon

@abigaild6

A new study conducted by Baylor University found that college students spend an average of eight to 10 hours per day on their cell phones. Frances Cairns, CEO of Campus Quad, found a way to include social media and education in one place by developing the app.

According to Yahoo Business, 92 percent of college students use their phones during idle time at school or work. This could include social media, news or other activities. Georgia College implemented OrgSync as a way for students to post about organizations and keep track of members. However, OrgSync does not include Facebook information or have an accessible app for smart phones.

Though GCSU has an app, it is not interactive. Cairns created an interactive and educational alternative app, Campus Quad, to make students’ lives easier. She has worked with four universities in student advising and with popular technology companies like Dell and Apple.

With her experience, she combined her student activity and technology knowledge to develop an app for Mini Cooper where drivers can coordinate events and efficiently communicate with other Mini Cooper enthusiasts.

Following working with Mini Cooper, Cairns realized she was happiest when working with students. In 2012, she approached this love with an app much like a public bulletin board, and thus Campus Quad was born. This application is easy to use and utilizes already established applications throughout the university.

Campus Quad is already in more than 500 universities around the country. The app makes your school into a miniature social media platform. Users can plan events through organizations or just as students and invite the whole school. It is easy to track attendance and other analytics through the device.

No longer do students need to sit down and figure out the opportunity cost of hosting an event, because Campus Quad does it for you. This app allows students to stay up-to-date on campus activities and allows them to see what their friends are up to.

Cairns said that the success is based on each individual campus, but if the students are happy, their engagement in school activities increases. She believes that an increase in engagement makes students want to come back year after year.

Campus Quad changes the way universities reach out to their students, and it can change the way students engage with each other.

Campus Quad attracts students by accessing all of their media at one time and creating an atmosphere where they can reach out to other students specifically at their school. Instead of creating group after group on other social media outlets, the app takes all of that information and integrates it into your profile in the app.
Cairns said the overall purpose of the app is to “drive student engagement with greater access to educational experiences.”