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Keeping up with classes and events on campus can be a challenge. However, the updated ����ֱ�� State University mobile app (KSU Mobile) has a new, refreshed look that makes it more user-friendly and tailored to student, faculty and staff needs.

One of the new features is a customizable home screen, complete with a new widget system that allows users to navigate to their most-used tools quickly.  

“I do like the customization that we have on here,” Gavin Miller told ����ֱ�� State Today.

Miller, an information technology major, was selected to help test the KSU Mobile app.  

New customizable widgets, access to news, campus information and FlashLine information makes this update handy for everyone in the ����ֱ�� State community. Was it mentioned that ����ֱ�� State Today can be accessed from the app? Oh, look at that.

So, ����ֱ�� State Today talked with some of the staff and app testers to show students, faculty and staff the benefits of the new updates.

FlashLine at your Fingertips

A more user-friendly display with quicker access to preferred applications, such as FlashLine, were some of the top tweaks based on user concerns.

“It’s nice to have a smaller version of the FlashLine portal at your fingertips that you can easily get to,” Miller said.  

Features such as accessing the directory, viewing dining dollars balances and also managing courses.

“Since most of my courses are online, I like to look and check my balance, check my GPA and check courses,” Miller said.

Through the app, students, staff and faculty can also view parking permits, pay stubs and time-off requests.

Mapping Made Easy

An interactive map was created to assist everyone in navigating around campus. The map allows users to toggle between different points of interest, such as buildings, parking lots and even courses, and receive directions to those locations.

“You could go to each of your classes and then click the location, and it would take you there and give you directions directly,” said Danny Hido, a junior computer science major and Digital Leadership Academy employee and beta tester. “I can easily look on my phone because I can’t pull out my computer,” he said.

Hido rarely used KSU Mobile before testing the update but had found that there were more features than expected.

“I would say I’ve been using it more,” Hido said. “I’ve used the GPA calculator a few times this semester. I’ve used the directory. I've looked at the class lists.”

Like Hido, another fan of the interactive map system is Caitlyn Hartmann, an academy employee and senior computer science major serving on the power process, automation and application development track.

“I actually have recommended it to at least one person who asked me for directions,” Hartmann said. “I was walking, and they stopped me and were like ‘Do you know where this building is?’ and it was on the complete opposite side of campus. And I was like, ‘You know what? You can see it in this app.’”

Hartmann has worked through the beta test since February of 2025 with the help of different teams to provide a final deliverable that would benefit the Flashes community.

“We worked pretty hard on making sure that the features worked in every system,” Hartmann said.

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The interactive map is not limited to directions for buildings or classes on campus. The latest version comes with the new bus tracking feature.

Users can select and deselect different routes to receive live updates and reminders on each bus.

“When you are starting the semester for the first time, you need to know where to go,” said  Elizabeth Gould, the lead user experience designer behind the update. “In the future, I would love more wayfinding for students and more things for students during the middle and the end of the semester.”

Future Features and Feedback

In addition to features for students, staff and faculty will have their own unique features on the app.  

“It [the current update] is predominantly student-based,” Gould said. "But my main goal was also to make sure that for launch and for future releases we do a 50/50 of student and employee updates.”

For future updates, Gould is looking to test alongside staff and faculty to see what they would like to see or improve.

“We’re trying to get faculty that want to provide feedback and do some user research with us,” Gould said. “I know faculty are busy; it is getting to that point in the semester, so we haven’t had as many hits as we would like.”

For faculty looking to assist with feedback and user research, reach out to ksumobiledev@kent.edu for more information.

“I would love to make things easier for faculty,” Gould said. “We want to focus on what we can do inside of KSU Mobile that might make quicker access for something that they don’t already have.”

Whether it is to engage with coursework on the go, check vacation time or to scout the location of the next bus, the KSU Mobile app’s new features allow students, staff and faculty to explore ����ֱ�� State’s resources at the tap of a finger.

Download the new and improved KSU Mobile app.