HillsdaleExperience is now accessible to students. Courtesy | YouTube

HillsdaleGo’s replacement app is now available for download on both Apple and Android devices.

The new app, called Hillsdale Experience, provides students with a single location for academic resources including class information, the student events calendar, and the campus dining menu. The college released the app to the Google Play store in mid-September and the Apple store in early October.

Although the Google Play store accepted the app immediately, the Apple store required additional information, which delayed the release, according to Senior Director of Applications and Software Kevin Maurer.

The new app is produced by the same Virginia-based company, Ellucian, and contains many of the same features as HillsdaleGo.

“We did not want to upset the world too much with something different,” Maurer said. “We just wanted to get the experience back for students who were used to HillsdaleGo.”

Maurer said students should not have trouble getting used to the new app.

“Hillsdale Experience is designed to be a close replica of HillsdaleGo,” Maurer said. “It will prove to be an easy adjustment for students.”

Sophomore Josh Underwood said he likes the new app.

“I think it is more simple than HillsdaleGo,” Underwood said. “It is very navigable. I’m glad that it has all the things I still need.” 

The app home page features portals that direct students to pages such as Canvas and Self Service. Canvas is a site that contains information regarding classes and assignments, while Self Service gives access to registration, course planning, and student employee information.

“The calendar with all the Hillsdale events is a great boon to me as a student,” Underwood said.

Junior Isaac Myhal said he was disappointed with the new app.

“The app only uses links,” Myhal said. “It doesn’t provide anything that I can’t get through a web browser. For the features that we really cared about like registration, there’s no incentive to get the app because I can bookmark all the webpages that it sends me to.”

Myhal said he plans on monitoring the app to see if it receives any updates.

“I would frequently register with the old Hillsdale app,” Myhal said. “At this point, that is not available on the new one.”

According to Maurer, the college tested the app with 90 students before releasing it to the rest of the school, applying their feedback to the final product.

Although the course roster feature is not yet a part of the Hillsdale Experience app, Maurer said students can use Canvas to access course rosters.

“The biggest problem is that Canvas is not required for all classes,” Maurer said. “We are evaluating options for the best course roster delivery method for students.”