SEAtS Mobile App: New Features Equal Convenience & Transparency

By: Elizabeth Jacobs

The School of Medicine uses a student success platform called SEAtS to track attendance and engagement to help ensure students stay on track and satisfy the attendance policy requirements for program completion.  Most students utilize the SEAtS mobile application on their phones to check in.  The app is relatively basic, but the vendor recently added new features to improve functionality and make the student attendance record more transparent.   

Not all scheduled events are necessarily required, but those that are include a mandatory designation in SEAtS.  As part of the newest mobile app update, an indicator is visible on the scheduled event, labeling it mandatory when applicable.  This clear indication helps students quickly identify the sessions they must not miss.

The large lecture halls in the School of Medicine include beacons that register students when they are in the room.  However, not all locations have these devices.  When a student arrives at a session and uses a QR code for check-in, the mobile app includes a viewfinder.  This viewfinder has now been updated to include a zoom feature.  The zoom capability makes it easier for student devices to read the QR code and properly check in from different areas of the room.

Once students are checked in, another mobile app update allows them to verify their attendance status.  By clicking the “Attended” icon, a pop-up display shows their successful check-in and the time it was recorded.  Additionally, students now have a detailed analytics page showing their attendance information.  This page allows students to view their attendance results based on specific time metrics, including 7 days, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 1 year.  It is also detailed by either all or individual modules.  Previously, students had to use the calendar view to check event attendance.  This new feature gives students more granular details in a more convenient format.

To ensure students can utilize these new features, they must update their mobile app to the latest version.  As with all technology, the hope is that it will make life easier for the students and faculty and ensure our students can focus on learning.