Dickinson Faculty implementing a new app to track attendance of campus events in the hopes to increase school spirit

Dickinson’s new event-tracking app Corq is turning out to be a success for the Student Life office.

The app helps Student Life keep track of how many people attend college events. It is part of an initiative to increase event participation and boost school spirit.

“The app has been pretty successful this semester,” said Jessee Vasold, program coordinator of student leadership and campus engagement. He said the number of users who downloaded the app has shot up since the summer. He reported on August 11 there were about 46 users, and as of October 15 there were 1,479 users. 

Corq is used for a range of events on campus, including athletic competitions. “The app is used to track game attendance numbers but also to tie those numbers to help incentivize students.” Vasold said the app helped the school determine how many t-shirts to order for a September football game, for example. Vasold says the app helps gauge how many people are going to attend an event, so the college can prepare and spend effectively on food and supplies.

Corq can also be used to organize raffles. During the same September football match, the app was used to set-up a raffle for a semester’s worth of books. Faculty used the Corq’s attendance info and a number generator to pick the winner. 

George Stroud, vice president and dean of student life, said initiatives that can stem from the app are important to increasing game attendance and is willing to speak to students about possible incentives to offer at games. 

“I want to talk to students…and say, ‘what will get you really excited about attending athletic events or other events that are going on campus, that would create more positive energy and excitement about being a Dickinsonian.’” 

With the implementation of Corq and faculty open to students’ input, Stroud said he hopes event attendance, school spirit and student engagement will help enhance the overall Dickinson experience. 

Corq can be downloaded on either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Students are able to sign in with their Dickinson username and password, each student is assigned a code which can be scanned by staff when they attend a campus event.