Residential Life and the Department of Student Life and Ministry joined forces over the summer to make OrgSync a thing of the past.
OrgSync was previously used by student organizations on campus to post events and store information, but an evaluation of the system showed that there was a better platform available, according to the director of the Department of Student Life and Ministry, Dale O’Neill.
That platform is called HowlConnect and launched August 6.
O’Neill described the program as an engagement software, that will reach students and allow faculty to track student involvement.
Jessamyn Reichmann, sociology senior and Student Government Association President said she noticed several downfalls when using OrgSync.
“It was mainly purposed around organizations seeking approval for events and allocations rather than individual students utilizing the software to be engaged in student affairs,” Reichmann said.
HowlConnect aims to benefit three main groups: administrators, students looking to get involved and student leaders. Kristin Bradley, music therapy senior and President of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, says she’s excited for the change.
“The system wasn’t very interactive,” Bradley said. “I hope that HowlConnect is more interactive and appealing to students and members of the campus organizations.”
A new feature that comes with HowlConnect is its accompanying mobile app, Corq.
“With Corq students will be able to see what events are happening on campus as well as at other nearby campuses that use the same software, like Tulane University, Dillard University and University of New Orleans,” O’Neill said.
The app will also allow student leaders, faculty and staff to check event attendance without the use of the external card swipe, as has been used in the past.
“Hosts and guests can simply use their smartphone to check-in and track attendance for any registered event,” said O’Neill.
Another concern that prompted the change was voter turnout in SGA elections held every spring through OrgSync. While elections will take place through HowlConnect, a higher student voter turnout is a priority for Reichmann.
“The issue we’re facing is voter turnout. We’re creating a collective action plan to make it relevant again through the app,” Reichmann said.
New students were introduced to the application at WolfPack Welcome.
“There will be some transition as it will take time for the Loyola community to get acclimated to the updated platform,” O’Neill said. “We are confident that it will best serve the needs of the student body.”
