December 14, 2011
by Michael Saffran

RIT Releases Apps for Android and Apple Mobile Devices

New apps feature RIT news, campus map, calendar, bus schedules and more

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Picture of RIT App

A screen capture of the home page of the Android version of RIT’s new mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices).

Rochester Institute of Technology has released mobile apps for Android and Apple iOS devices.

The apps feature RIT news (separated into categories); a searchable campus map; an events calendar (also separated into categories); lab hours; RIT and RTS shuttle-bus schedules; dining-services locations, hours and menus; and more. The apps are available for download from the Android Market and the iTunes App Store.

In the future, a special section showcasing apps created by students and others will be added. Students majoring in interactive games and media, in RIT’s B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, will develop interactive mobile apps as part of rich-media coursework that will help prepare them for positions in mobile-application development.

“Students want information at their fingertips, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve the student experience and services,” says Jeanne Casares, RIT chief information officer.

“As an international student, I use the bus schedule for making travel around RIT and Rochester easy,” says Talha Khopekar, an information technology graduate student. “I like the dining-services information because it gives me plenty of vegetarian options throughout the campus.”

Earlier this fall, the university unveiled a mobile-friendly website compatible with a variety of mobile devices and offering easy access to a wide range of similar information. To use the mobile website, (no log-in, download or installation is required).

Last spring, more than 1,100 RIT students, faculty, staff and alumni responded to a survey asking about how they use mobile devices and what features would be most important to them. Results identified information about classes, dining services, events and lab hours, along with news, bus schedules, a directory and campus map as desirable content.

“I think the RIT mobile website is pretty cool,” says Shaoming Liu, an industrial and systems engineering graduate student. “It’s easy to read and the icons are clear. It makes browsing on my phone easy.”

Adds Lynn Michels, a fourth-year information technology major: “The mobile website is convenient for finding buildings and locations. Bus schedules are at your fingertips. Places to eat, as well as days and hours they are open, are also easy to find. It’s simple and easy to navigate. It has all of the important links quickly available to find.”

The mobile-Web and mobile apps projects were led by representatives from RIT Admissions, Development and Alumni Relations, Information and Technology Services, Student Government, University News Services, University Publications and The Wallace Center. Modo Labs, a Massachusetts-based mobile design and development firm, assisted in the initiative.

About RIT

Rochester Institute of Technology is internationally recognized for academic leadership in computing, engineering, imaging science, sustainability, and fine and applied arts, in addition to unparalleled support services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. RIT enrolls 17,500 full- and part-time students in more than 200 career-oriented and professional programs, and its cooperative education program is one of the oldest and largest in the nation.

For more than two decades, U.S. News & World Report has ranked RIT among the nation’s leading comprehensive universities. RIT is featured in The Princeton Review’s 2012 edition of The Best 376 Colleges as well as its Guide to 311 Green Colleges. The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2012 names RIT as a “Best Buy,” and The Chronicle of Higher Education recognizes RIT among the “Great Colleges to Work For 2011.”

Useful links:

Android mobile app:
iOS mobile app:
Tiger ROAR app:

RIT In the News:
Brighton-Pittsford Post — Jan. 4

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