In July of 2012, the university released a mobile application after seeing a demand from the UNA community. The free app was introduced to provide a variety of resources for the students to take advantage of – all at their fingertips.

The main uses of the application right now include looking up courses, events, quick call numbers, campus directory information, campus maps, news, athletics information, videos and library information.

Jeremy Britten, web communications manager at UNA, said that future plans include a virtual tour, shuttle bus tracking, alumni information and also admissions information.

“We’re always looking for new ideas,” he said.

For students relying on campus transportation to get to and from the campus, shuttle bus tracking is sure to be a helpful addition. SGA recently passed a resolution to pay for GPS tracking to be added to each of the campus buses, and the app would have a real-time map showing the exact location of each bus.

Sarah Simpson, a UNA sophomore, said she does not find much of a use for the app right now. However, with plans to live off-campus next semester, she said that “being able to track the buses could be a cool addition.”

Many of the reviewers in the Google Play store mention wanting to be able to check their campus email from the application. Britten said he believes that native email applications on the phones are a much better alternative.

Currently, the “My Courses” function of the application gives students the ability to view course announcements, rosters, assignments, discussions and grades without having to visit the Angel Learning website. However, most students find this of little use without the ability to respond to discussion threads and to view the “Lessons” content outside of Angel.

The UNA app is currently available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry and can be found by searching for “University of North Alabama” on Android and iPhone and by searching for “UNA” on Blackberry.

Britten said that the web team is getting “very close” to releasing a Windows Phone version and a tablet version, but that there is not a timeline for release.

Students are encouraged to provide their ideas about what they think would make the app a better overall experience. Britten and others involved with the app monitor Twitter and the reviews in the app stores to see what students like and do not like about the application.