Kelsey Mix – Copy Editor –
If you have ever walked around campus and come across potholes in the parking lots or broken windows on one of the academic buildings–instead of just walking by it–you can now easily contact Facilities Operations with a click of your smartphone.
It’s called SeeClickFix, a new app for your iPhone, Android or Blackberry that allows students, faculty and staff to effortlessly report problems around campus, said Robert Sheeley, associate vice president for Capital Budgeting and Facilities Operations.
“Problems can be submitted to Facilities with detailed information of the problem or image of the problem by using your phone camera and attaching the photo to the submission,” said Sheeley, “Facilities will also be able to prioritize the request as it relates to issues of safety on campus.”
According to the SeeClickFix website, there is a GPS integrated in the app so the exact location of the issue can be identified. You can also zoom in and out on the map provided and drag a marker to where the problem is located, as stated on Southern’s Facilities Operations website.
Hannah Thill, sophomore pre-nursing major, believed that this new app will not change the reaction time to the work orders on campus, “I think it’s a good idea, but I think that they don’t take the work orders seriously and it’s not going to get fixed.”
Junior public health major Eliza Gartrell agrees with Thill on this standpoint, “It might be a bit effective, but I don’t really think they will take a lot more action than they’ve been taking with the work orders.”
With this app, you have the ability to include the issue, category of said issue, a brief description, an image, and your email address so you can stay up-to-date on the steps being taken to solve the problem.
Sheeley also describes the types of issues you can find listed on the Facilities website: “Campus issues that you can report [include] roads or parking lots, entrance or exit doors, outdoor or indoor lighting, public bathrooms, broken windows, campus sidewalks, or indoor and outdoor buildings.”
One place on campus where this does not apply to are the dorm buildings. Residence hall staff or students should not be using this app, said Sheeley. This also will not be replacing our current work order system within the dorms or on the campus as a whole.
Nathalie Francois, junior English education major, thinks that this app has beneficial aspects for the student body, especially commuters, “Commuters don’t really have somebody to go to about these issues. When they find out there’s an app for this, I feel like it will make things a lot easier for them.”
Sophomore communication disorders major Imara Campbell believed that this app will help all students be heard and more problems will get fixed as a result. “If something happens in lot nine, I know I’ll have no idea it exists because I live on campus,” she said, “so the students that are there every day can report the issue and help get it fixed.”
Campbell also hopes this app is well-advertised around campus so every student has access to it. This is much easier than finding a computer to email Facilities Operations, she said.
