First-year students at Montclair State University in New Jersey will get more than their usual welcome pack when they start school this August. The university is handing out web-enabled mobile phones with Rave Wireless’ applications included, giving every new student real-time access to everything from their team buddies and college friends to class assignments, shuttle bus information and the campus police.

Dr Edward V. Chapel, vice president for Information Technology at Montclair State University, says the reason for making the mobile phone such an integral part of learning (every new student is required to obtain a Rave-configured phone) is that three-quarters of the undergraduate population live off-campus.

“The idea was for the mobile phone to be a virtual campus experience,” he says. “We wanted our students to be as connected and engaged as possible while not being physically present.”

Of the 11,000-strong undergraduate population about 3200 students have signed up to Rave, subscriptions to which start at USD 186 per six months (the cost for the phone and related services are included in the tuition and fees). Chapel says students clearly see the benefits of the service as it not only helps them to stay on top of what is happening on campus, but also makes it easier for them to interact with the faculty and their fellow students.

“New students tend to be very shy and there is a lot of risk in putting yourself out there,” Chapel says.

“With Rave, we have created the ability to establish virtual social circles, called Entourages, which means there is less risk in asking someone out because you’ll be asking a number people at the same time. It has really helped students to get active and engaged at a much earlier stage.”

Rave is also a tool for learning. It gives students access to course information, podcasts of lectures, discussion groups and faculty announcements. “For instance, you can tune into a podcast for 15 minutes when you’re making your way to or from a lecture, or participate in the discussion group of your class project.”

Rodger Desai, chief executive officer of Rave Wireless, says his company was born as a result of universities’ communication challenges and students’ needs for “extremely” local news.

“Students use their mobile to find out if soccer practice has been cancelled or if they’ll be going to the movies in the evening,” Desai says. “They are using it to organize their lives.”

Today, Rave Wireless is offering a number of standard and customized applications from its website that students can download to their mobile phones. Rave software has already been installed by the school and, with buttons embedded in the screen, it is easy to navigate between the applications.

Desai says that his service – which is expected to be used by half a million students across 70 US universities by the end of the year – is popular because of the practical information it contains.

“When a student wakes up in the morning, they do not turn their mobile on to watch CNN as they already have a TV in their room,” he says. “They turn it on to check whether their classes have been cancelled, what meals are being served on campus or when buses leave – it helps support millenial lifestyles.”

Torunn Hansen-Tangen