The university’s community software EngageXU begins its first semester

Written by: Joseph Cotton

EngageXU seems to have been well received on campus since its roll out for the beginning of fall semester. 

The software is the new digital home of student organizations and allows them to manage events, track engagement and organize necessary files such as application forms and online waivers. 

These tasks were previously performed using the OrgSync platform which was adopted in 2011.

EngageXU is also being used as a distribution mechanism for campus newsletters such as the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Student Weekly as well as digital content published by the Newswire.   

Junior Philosophy, Politics and the Public and Economics double major Andrew Geraghty finds himself using EngageXU a lot to set up resident life events and track engagement in his role as a Buenger RA. 

He stated that the software felt more intuitive to him than OrgSync. 

“I think it is a much needed update and it’s a good facelift for the university,” Geraghty said. “Students seem to be responding well, especially the first-years I’ve been interacting with.”

Junior marketing major and president of Xavier’s chapter of the American Marketing Association Lauren Jacobs echoed Geraghty’s sentiment that the software is much easier to use. 

“I like that I can take care of things in one place,” said Jacobs. “All the forms and information I need from the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) are in one place.”

Geraghty also pointed to the new touchless features that are helping people on campus stay safe given COVID-19 guidelines. 

“This year it’s important to be as paperless and touchfree as possible,” Geraghty noted. 

“We can have students sign-in (to events) by simply using their barcode instead of grabbing everyone’s All-Card and scanning them individually.”

Both Geraghty and Jacobs agreed that EngageXU feels equally as intuitive from the user end. 

“With all the different groups you can see, it’s easy to navigate different calendars, see other members and make connections there,” Geraghty said. “The software is cleaner, nicer and easier to use. ”

“(EngageXU) has a much more social feel. It has a social media element to it which makes it easier to see what others are doing and what’s happening on campus,” Jacobs stated. 

Jacob expressed that she believed that the new CampusGroups app is one of the more exciting features that the new platform offers. 

“(the app) is going to be really helpful as we are on the go or need to check something quickly,” noted Jacobs. “The way (the app) is laid out is so much better than OrgSync. You can even add events directly to your iPhone calendar which is really convenient.” 

First-year exercise science major Joshua Johnson used EngageXU to join club boxing, pershing rifles as well as the ranger club and had positive things to say about it.

“It’s really useful with getting information from clubs and other stuff happening on

campus,” Johnson said. “As a new student, it’s quite easy to navigate through.”

The name EngageXU was decided on after a student vote late last spring semester since CampusGroups, the software provider for EngageXU, allows schools to choose the name of their platform.

The previous platform, OrgSync was acquired and eventually discontinued by CampusLabs in 2016. Xavier opted to continue to use OrgSync until its contract with CampusLabs expired. After the contract expired, Xavier signed on with CampusGroups to use  its platform.