The deciding factor in the change to Blackboard Mobile was that UTM officials wanted to have a single, integrated app for all elements of the campus experience in order to simplify things for users and increase engagement. With Blackboard, UTM will have an app for campus life and services that will also integrate with the latest release of the Blackboard Learn™ platform, the college's learning management system (LMS), so its 7,750 students have the easiest and most convenient solution to stay connected to the college and their courses.


"We didn't just want to 'check the box' of having a mobile application," said Craig Ingram, interim director of UTM's Information and Technology Center and Web Services. "Blackboard Mobile offers the full spectrum of capabilities we were looking to bring to our students, and we look forward to working with Blackboard to continue to build on and enhance our mobile platform."


Components of the new app include a complete campus telephone directory, athletics schedule and news updates, the complete UTM library catalog, and a maps feature that enables the users to find their exact location on campus, search for a building and pinpoint its address. Academic and social calendars provide a list of upcoming events such as concerts, lectures, and exhibits and alert users to activities near their current locations.


UT Martin students will also be able to access their course content with Blackboard Mobile Learn, allowing them to view grades, participate in online course discussion boards and access course assignments.


"Our goal is to strengthen institutional traditions and to create lifelong affiliations with our university," said Dr. Tom Rakes, UT Martin chancellor. "The new mobile app will help us achieve this by enhancing students' connection with our university through the technology available with today's mobile devices."