One Colorado university drops mobile app, another launches new one

Colorado State University this week announced that it’s dropping support for its mobile app after administrators noticed that students are increasingly favoring university websites.

In a blog post Tuesday, the university announced that the app — named RAMmobile after the university’s mascot, a rambouillet sheep named Cam — will not be available for download or use starting July 31.

“The decision to discontinue RAMmobile was made after reviewing the app’s usage and considering current resource allocations. Over time, app usage had declined as students and staff increasingly accessed information directly through websites and other platforms,” the post read. “Given this shift in user behavior, it was decided to redirect resources from maintaining the app to enhancing other services more widely used by the campus community.”

The public land-grant university, which enrolls 32,000 students at its campus in Fort Collins, compiled a list of links to various websites where students can access the same services that are collected by the mobile app, including a campus map, parking garage availability, class registration and course listings.

And as Colorado State sends off its mobile app, the University of Northern Colorado, a public school in Greeley that enrolls 8,000 students, rolls out a new one. UNC announced last month the launch of an app called My UNC that includes personalized dashboards, interactive campus maps and calendars.

“The new app will significantly improve efficiency, especially during events like new student orientation,” said Wade Bumgarner, director of the university’s Enterprise Systems and Technology Experience office. “We want to provide a comprehensive tool that meets all student needs.”

According to a press release, the project was funded by a $1.2 million state grant. Bumgarner said the university will monitor how students are using the app to continue improving it.

“This is just the beginning, and we look forward to rolling out more features that will make life easier for everyone at UNC,” Bumgarner said.

Corrected July 22, 2024: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that University of Northern Colorado is a private school; it’s a public university.