UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The popular Penn State Go app received two prestigious Appademy Awards -- Best Integration and Best Overall Campus App -- in November from Modo Labs, the platform that powers the app. The competition drew more than 100 submissions in 10 categories to showcase how higher ed institutions make campus resources more accessible.
Penn State Go has been downloaded nearly 350,000 times since it rolled out in 2020. The app previously won the Best Desktop Experience award in 2022 and placed second in the Best Student-Driven App category in 2020.
Ryan Seilhamer, Penn State IT’s product owner for Penn State Go mobile and web, guides the evolution of the service, frequently requesting student feedback to influence direction. He leads a small team supported by Academic Services’ development resources.
“We manage one of the largest higher education apps in the country, which offers 26 unique experiences for University Park, the Commonwealth Campuses, World Campus, and faculty, staff, alumni and parents,” Seilhamer said. “That makes both of these awards so gratifying, especially given our successes leveraging limited resources that are part-time or shared with other services.”
Penn State Go is free to download and use, featuring in-demand resources such as LionPATH, Canvas, Starfish, Dining, Mobile id+, maps, shuttles, and more. The app also offers information on important campus events and timely communication through public and personalized push notifications.
Penn State Go continues to improve the user experience with a completely redesigned student experience for University Park, World Campus, Abington, Altoona, Behrend, Berks, and Harrisburg released in early January 2025 to add more timely and personalized content. During the new experience soft launch in fall 2024 Seilhamer said students routinely offer unsolicited positive feedback for both ease of use and the dynamic content available to them in one location.
"Service is central to everything we do in Penn State IT, and we are thrilled that our students and other users continue to get high value from the Penn State Go app," said Chris Lucas, deputy chief information officer and Penn State IT’s associate vice president for academic technologies and customer experience. "It's gratifying to see that our team's dedication to creating valuable user experiences has been recognized by our students and celebrated by Modo Labs through their annual awards."
To learn more about the app or download it, please visit the Penn State Go website.