By Rory McNelley, Head Copy Editor
Xavier’s new concierge app, Hello Muskie, was born out of student feedback for an app that connects all the campus resources in one place. Including Xavier’s websites, Canvas, Handshake and EngageXU, the app allows students to customize almost every aspect of the user experience.
“I heard from students a lot that navigating all the different apps as a Xavier student is clunky and they didn’t understand that, in the age of our technology, why we wouldn’t have a better global app that helped meet students where they are,” Vice President of Student Affairs Kimberly Moore said.
The newly launched app is being referred to as a minimal viable product, meaning it is in stage one. Student feedback is being used to build the software and continually improve the user experience.
“Xavier worked with a premier tech company to partner in creating something that is particularly specific to Xavier, and it was completely designed from students’ requests,” Moore said. “The intention is that students tell us about features they want to see, or if they are running into challenges or have feelings about the AI.”
Some students are concerned about the AI aspect of the app and the potential environmental impacts. Xavier is currently measuring the usage and effect of AI.
Xavier’s new app, Hello Muskie, is a place for students to find all their Xavier information.
“We are committed to measuring token use from the app and designing the offset so that we can get to a neutral footprint. The first step is measuring, and that’s what we are doing right now,” Moore said. “You can use the app and never use AI.”
Students can use the app without the AI feature. The only AI aspect is the chat feature. Sending a prompt invites the AI to respond. Other features of the app are powered differently.
Student response has been mixed regarding the new app with some reporting inaccurate schedules and information.
“When you open the schedule on the app, it says that my Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes are two hours long which is not accurate. Additionally, in the calendar view, you can only see one week at a time,” senior computer science major Hayden Gillen said.
Students are also pushing back against the integration of AI.
“I don’t think the general population is big on school-sponsored AI,” Gillen said.
For the best results, students are encouraged to answer the questions that they are prompted with when first downloading the app. This allows the app to be customized to their specific interests. With this knowledge, the app can show them specific EngageXU events catered to their interests.
If you or someone you know is having trouble with the app, has recommendations for improvement or thoughts about the AI integration they should fill out this link.