A UCCS partnership with a third-party app that’s intended to encourage connections and make new students feel more at home has over half of incoming students engaging with the platform. 

Implemented at UCCS at the start of this year, the third-party app named Nearpeer lets students connect over common interests, both academic and recreational. The app is meant to foster a sense of belonging, and UCCS has monitored over a thousand students engaging on it in its first month of operation, according to Learning Communication Support Specialist Katrina Schwank.  

“Your first year of college can be somewhat challenging, especially if you don’t have that group of friends, and this is a great way to make those connections,” Schwank said.  

Upon joining Nearpeer, students are prompted to tell the app what some of their interests are so that it can point them in the right direction to make connections, which appear as “followers” on the app. According to Schwank, over 21,000 direct messages have been sent, and each student on the app has made an average of 11 connections. 

In the app, students can also learn about campus events in group chats. Many groups include orientation leaders, engagement leaders and other people that can answer questions newcomers have about campus. 

“There are tons of events on campus to go to and meet new people … but with Nearpeer, you can find people to go with you to those events,” Schwank said. 

The data UCCS collects from students using the app may even influence student life on campus. Director of Student Life Noelle San Souci said that Nearpeer can give a year-by-year readout of what incoming students are interested in, making it easy to see what kind of campus events students would be interested in. 

Nearpeer engagement was higher in the weeks leading up to the start of the semester. Incoming students were sent emails prompting them to sign up through both their school and personal emails. Participation has dipped since the school year started, though Schwank said that was to be expected. 

“A lot of the engagement was prior to the school year starting, people getting to know each other, but we do plan on keeping this cohort open as long as students are still engaged,” Schwank said. 

Founded in 2017, Nearpeer was made to address the loneliness and isolation crisis in colleges and communities, according to Nearpeer. By connecting students, the company believes they are more likely to develop comfort and belonging, which helps turn applicants into enrolled students who stay in college. 

A research study issued by Nearpeer and California State University, Northridge shows that the app helped increase overall enrollment and retention at Northridge and was also effective among targeted minority and first-generation students. 

Schwank said that there was some consideration to market the Nearpeer program to returning students, but that it’s difficult to gauge interest for something like that for students who have been on campus for some time. Returning students can still make accounts through their UCCS emails. 

Nearpeer can be downloaded on the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

The Nearpeer app login page. Photo by Josiah Dolan.