Navigating yourself around Guilford can be a tedious and difficult task without a guide or assistance from others. However, this August, Guilford College introduced a new student app called Navigate Student for all students to use.

“It’s a one stop shop,” said Director of Academic Support Services Curtis Arena. “Guilford College had seen this type of app about two years ago, and was looking for a way to schedule appointments easier and find a resourceful app that could be used by all students at Guilford. That’s where the Student Navigate App came in.”

As an intuitive application for college students at its core, Navigate Student can be used for making to-do lists, looking at your class schedule, booking appointments, finding study buddies, accessing resources, checking holds and exploring your major. 

“This app could even help set reminders for deadlines, such as a reminder to renew your FAFSA for next year,” said Arena. “It can also help you find resources and find support offices, as well as maps, phone numbers and connecting resources in one spot.” 

Despite its recent launch, many professors have already adopted this app into their routine, including Professor of Chemistry and Chief of Computing Technology and Information Systems Department (CTIS) Rob Whitnell. 

“I’ve been using it to schedule appointments,” said Whitnell. “It just makes a lot of sense. It’s providing a lot of good information in one place.”

Whitnell attended a few sessions this summer, hosted by Guilford, which provided an overview of Navigate’s functions. However, he still tampers with the app to see what other uses it has to offer.

“It is much easier (to use) than Google accounts,” said Whitnell. “It makes things easier for me. Hopefully it’ll make it easier for the students.”

Students have also mentioned that Navigate has been a big help, more so than previous technologies. 

“I think it’s helpful,” said first-year Mission Reed. “It is much more convenient than checking Banner Web all the time.”

Earlier this year, the vast majority of incoming students had to get the app through their freshman checklist. There were constant reminders about it, and for some it has proven very helpful with classes and deadlines.

“It’s easy to use, see my schedule and make an appointment,” said first-year Mary Frances Warner. “Navigate helped me with my first day of classes.”

First-year Claire Rogers agrees and also see the opportunity for connectivity around campus. 

“It’s pretty good,” said Rogers. “It helps me make appointments for certain things. It could let people know more things going on around Guilford.”

Arena believes the impact of the Navigate Student app will grow over the year. 

“It can only get better and bigger the more people download it as long as more people keep asking for these types of resources,” said Arena. 

If you are interested in making this school year more manageable and having important information at your fingertips, then consider checking out the Navigate Student app in the App Store today. 

 “Get in on your phone and take advantage of the resources,” said Whitnell. “I’ve been encouraging it to my students. I find a lot of good things in this app.”

Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 2 of The Guilfordian on Oct. 11 2019.