Binghamton University clubs, teams and organizations were met with a revamped B-Engaged website and interface upon returning to campus for the fall semester.
B-Engaged is an online system provided by the University that is meant to serve as a resource for campus offices and student organizations to alert students of upcoming events, such as general interest meetings. Giovanna Bernardo, ‘17, student engagement specialist in the Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives Office, wrote in an email that the update to B-Engaged provides new way for groups to engage with current, new and prospective members.
“It was clear that the Student Association, campus offices and student organizations needed a tool that was more user-friendly, had better functionality and is intuitive to use,” Bernardo said. “Given the timing with contracts, it was a great time to partner with the SA to re-examine and find a tool that met more people’s needs.”
It’s not just student groups that are impacted by the changes. Several University offices also use the interface to connect and communicate with students. Wendy Neuberger, director of Harpur Edge, wrote in an email that the Harpur Edge office has been using B-Engaged to connect with Harpur College undergraduates since the office opened in fall 2014.
“The new B-Engaged platform has a lot more functionality that is extremely useful for Harpur Edge,” Neuberger wrote. “Many tasks we did outside the old version are now available within the application, which saves us a lot of time. I find it easier to navigate and use.”
The Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives Office has been hosting optional B-Engaged training workshops, some of which have been led by Bernardo.
“The workshops are targeted [toward] professional staff and student group leaders who have utilized B-Engaged in the past, as well as those who are interested in using the new B-Engaged system going forward,” Bernardo wrote. “While these are not required trainings, we have been pleased with the positive response and attendance at workshops so far and highly encourage any staff member or student who is interested in utilizing B-Engaged to come and learn all about the new platform.”
With the University’s evolving student body, the updated B-Engaged is expected to more easily accommodate a greater number of users, according to Bernardo.
“B-Engaged had about 12,510 unique logins during the [2018-19] year,” Bernardo wrote. “Given the new platform’s ease of use and upgraded functionality, we expect to have even more users — from clubs, to departments, to teams — using B-Engaged, relying on this internal campus tool instead of third-party systems.”
According to Neuberger, features on the updated B-Engaged website include a directory and a feed where students are able to search specific events based either on groups they belong to or certain topics, such as lost and found, ride-sharing, looking for roommates and buying and selling belongings. Some groups, such as Harpur Edge, automatically add student members at the beginning of the semester.
“This allows us to easily share news about our resources and events,” Neuberger wrote. “One feature that is really useful is the automatic QR code generation for events. When we share the QR code with students they can easily go to the event on B-Engaged to RSVP.”
Bernardo said he hopes the new system will encourage students to be more involved in campus life.
“It will make it easier for students and staff alike to integrate B-Engaged into their groups’ and departments’ operations,” Bernardo wrote. “This should, in turn, make it easier for students to get more involved on campus.”