Every September, thousands of students anxiously walk into university or college lecture halls for the first time, many of which having just arrived in their new campus dorm. University is a huge adjustment for first-year students, with many leaving home for the first time to pursue their studies. When thinking back to how you felt during your first week of classes and how comfortable you were on campus in your final year, the difference is like night and day.
A mobile safety app is a great resource for first year students. Their unfamiliarity of their school’s campus, not to mention the anxiety of living away from home for the first time, makes the app an important part of their early university experience. The campus safety app provides students with resources and gives them a sense of security in their new home.
Students Should Feel Safe
If a student lacks a sense of security, their academics may suffer as a result of stress and anxiety. This is why it’s so important for there to be a strong marketing push towards first-year students, in order to make sure they are aware of your school’s safety app and its resources. Feeling safe will help first-year students transition into campus life and reduce the anxiety of living in a new place.
Students will feel comfortable because they have access to interactive campus maps on their phone through their safety app, which can help direct them to their destination or send a location beacon to campus security. Students can also receive mass notifications informing them of any emergency or alert on campus, even when the app isn’t running. A student’s piece of mind comes from knowing that they are always connected to their campus safety network.
Avoiding Information Overload
First-year students are new to campus and are also new to the slew of safety resources and contacts. Upper years have been familiarized with these contacts over their university career, but these numbers and names are foreign to freshman. This is why the aggregation of your school’s safety contacts and resources are arguably the most beneficial for first-year students, as the amount of information they are receiving can be overwhelming.
Targeting First-Years
What can you do to ensure first years are aware of all the safety resources available to them through your mobile app? Communication and education. If you haven’t already launched your marketing push for first-years, it’s incredibly important that you do so. Not only do first-years benefit from features such as campus maps and having campus support resources in one place, but they can inform the incoming first-year students once they are upper years.
What has been your experience with marketing your safety app to first-year students? What has been the most beneficial safety feature for first years? Comment below and tell us what you think!
