For the third year in a row, the University of Houston’s official mobile app, UH Go, has won national awards. This year UH Go tied with CSU San Bernardino in the innovation award category from Modo Labs. In addition, for the second year in a row, UH Go was named the winner of the award for app personalization. The mobile team, which consists of UH Marketing and University Information Technology, accepted the award virtually on June 23, 2021.

Award Overview

Most Innovative App for Communication

Recognizing apps that utilize personalized and timely push notifications and in-app banners to improve communication with students and/or various target audiences.

[Modo] The University of Houston has automated the regular upload of a directory of potential authenticated users for UH Go, with key demographics to allow for targeted messaging, location-based push notifications, proximity notifications using bluetooth beacons and sending notifications to UH Go users about the launch of their QR code for point-of-sale transactions in their integrated Cougar Card module as they entered the dining hall.

• Using the administrative features available via the Modo Campus platform, the UH Go Mobile Team has been able to facilitate targeted messaging to users. One recent example of this is a message sent to Spring 2021 graduates to congratulate them on their success and invite them to become active members of the UH Alumni Association. The timing of this message correlated to a 40.5% increase in traffic on UH  Go’s Alumni persona.
• In another example, as a part of the “Coog Strong, Mask On” campaign for a safe return to campus in Fall 2020, the team set up messages to remind users to “Stay COVID-19 Safe” that were triggered, at most, once per day, every time the UH  Go user entered a potentially high-traffic space, such as the Student Center South or the MD Anderson Library. These messages correlated to a whopping 114.3% increase in traffic on UH  Go’s related communications content.

Best App Personalization (XModule)

Recognizing apps that use XModule to deliver the best and most creative mobile experiences through XModule(s) and/or XComponent(s) to facilitate hyper-personalized and unique experiences to students on campus.

[Modo] The  University of Houston has launched Density Information XComponent feature that shows users, at a glance, how crowded high-traffic areas on campus are in real time. Additionally, 2 iterative releases of their existing Cougar Card that allows users to add funds to their declining card balances and use a QR code for point-of-sale transactions at the dining halls. Additionally, they release an XModule to supplement the on-campus emergency call boxes and to enhance the experience of campus safety by providing UH Go users with and emergency call box in their pockets.

• As a part of the “Coog Strong, Mask On” campaign, the UH  Go Mobile Team launched two dynamic features using administrative functions available via the Modo Campus platform: an anonymous COVID-19 health Self-assessment and a Density Information feature that shows UH  Go users how crowded high-traffic areas are on campus, in real time. Said one student, “The density information gives me peace of mind when I travel to any place on campus.”
• In Spring 2021, the team also launched two iterative releases of the existing Cougar Card feature in UH  Go. These releases incorporated the ability to add funds to Cougar Cash and ShastaBUCKS card balances, and the ability to complete point-of-sale transactions at the Cougar Woods Dining Hall using a QR code. Slated for release later this summer, the team has also developed feature to enhance the experience of campus safety by providing UH  Go users with an emergency call box in their pockets. In an emergency, the Emergency Call feature sends the UH  Go user’s location to the UH Police Dispatch, who can be contacted via this feature with the tap of a button.