Jon Carey
Equinox Staff
The media sensation of having simple applications available at the touch of a screen has become almost commonplace for both the teenage youth and working adults all across the world.
But Keene State College students who would like to access their MailCruiser accounts through their smartphones will have to wait until the spring for the new application.
The Equinox released an issue in the Fall 2011 semester stating that the MyKSC portal could be accessed through their designated smartphone.
The new application was said to be released in December 2011, but Chief Information Officer of IT, Laura Seraichick, said MailCruiser could not release the application at the desired date.
“MailCruiser did not release the new mobile app in December as planned,” Seraichick said. “It’s still under development and they plan to release later in the spring.”
The importance of the implementation of this new cell phone application is so KSC students can access their MyKSC accounts without the hassle of signing in continuously to receive email.
“I recently just bought the new iPhone and upon getting new applications it crossed my mind that the school doesn’t have an email application so students can keep updated on the run,” KSC senior Billy Waitt said.
Waitt said that students are always on the move; whether it’s keeping up with classes or hitting the books in the library, young adults are becoming more reliant on their smartphones for obtaining information.
“Technology is getting more advanced and people now are becoming so heavily dependent on their phones to obtain information, it would only make sense for Keene State to create email applications,” Waitt said.
The earlier story released in the fall semester also stated that this new application was fully functional at the Mail Cruiser Conference in Philadelphia last year.
The story also mentioned that with this new app, a student will not receive pop-up notifications for emails if they received an email from a Gmail or other email account.
Seraichick said that like with any IT developments there can always be unexpected setbacks that hurt the development cycle process.
“It’s sometimes pretty common to have timelines shift a little either way in the software development cycle,” Seraichick said.
Other students are anxious for the new application as it could make their schedule more simple and manageable.
KSC senior Jacob Thomas, who graduates this semester, said with his complex schedule it would be simpler if he didn’t have to find a computer to check email.
“I can do so much on my phone, but when it comes to checking my email it’s like I have to plan ahead just so I can have a computer at my disposal,” Thomas said.
Waitt added that the student population is growing every year and teenagers at the high school level are getting introduced to the media connections and smartphones, so colleges should be prepared to accommodate the student lifestyle.
“Smartphones are taking over the young adult population, so you can’t get far without hearing about anything pertaining to becoming more connected in the world,” Waitt said.
“I’m sure there are valid reasons why the application has yet to be established,” Thomas said. “Technology development is something I have little experience in and the college wouldn’t want to release an application to over 5,000 students that ultimately doesn’t work.”
Students should look for the application to be released in the spring.
Jon Carey can be contacted at jcarey1@ksc.mailcruiser.com.