College campuses are full of information students have to keep track of. Their busy schedules include navigating college bus systems, learning their way around obscure corners of campus and examining which courses are available next semester.
Problem is, at most colleges finding this information means searching multiple websites. But a mobile app launched out of Penn State fixes that.
OneSchool, which is available for Android and Apple mobile devices, puts much of the information college students need in one spot. The app allows them to track campus buses, check out places to eat, look up professors' email addresses and stay on top of campus news. It's available at four colleges, including Penn State. So far more than 15,000 people have downloaded it. Not bad for a service that started out as a website where Penn State students shared class notes.
OneSchool currently has eight workers on its roster, including interns. They're split between Silicon Valley and Penn State. In California, the team has made connections and received funding after taking part in programs like the NewME Accelerator and DEMO showcase.
“Right now I see OneSchool as a utility,” says marketing director Kathleen Warner. “Our vision is much greater than that.”
Ultimately, the team wants its app to be an indispensable part of college life. It's working on adding features – a listing of events is requested most often – and expanding to more colleges based on factors like the size of the student body and how many students request OneSchool.
Source: Kathleen Warner, OneSchool
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen