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Wellness App created by CSE students has a successful pilot

August 28, 2017

Mobull Wellness Home Screen

During the Spring 2017 semester, the "MoBull Wellness" app was developed by Department of Computer Science and Engineering students Matthew Chan, Maxwell Busenbarrick, and David Gonzalez. They were guided through the app development process by Dr. Kenneth Christensen. The purpose of the app is to assist University of South Florida students to find all available wellness resources and information in one place.

The app serves its purpose well, and it covers many types of wellness, including Emotional, Academic, Physical, Social, Career, and Financial Wellness. Under each category, the app user may choose to take an introspective assessment of their wellness. They may also access information on several resources offered to USF students, specific to the wellness they are concerned about. For example, a student seeking Emotional Wellness resources can find information on counseling services offered at USF, and a more urgent "I Need Help Now" button is available for students who feel they are in imminent danger.

Matthew Chan, one of the app's developers, said, "I truly do hope USF students can take advantage of this application's many resources, considering there is something for everyone. From freshman to senior year, a student is constantly changing, and so will their concerns regarding the different areas of wellness. With that being said, it will be hugely beneficial for them to have MoBull Wellness downloaded while attending USF."

Mobull Wellness has already been introduced to students taking the University's freshman success class, "Academic Foundations Seminar," starting with the Summer B 2017 semester. The app, particularly the Emotional Wellness feature, was found to be helpful to the students who downloaded it. Some students also stated they enjoyed the wellness self-assessments and the instant feedback the app provided for when they were feeling unwell.

The idea for the app was presented by Dr. Rita DeBate, Assistant Vice President of USF Health and Wellness, Jean Keelan, Director of Career Services, Jennifer DiPrete, Director of the Center for Student Well-Being, and Dr. Lisa Ferdinand, Psychologist in the Counseling Center. The initial concept was inspired by productive wellness apps produced and utilized by NYIT and The University of Utah.

Jean Keelan says, "Sometimes you just know that an initiative will be helpful to students and the MoBull Wellness app is one of those initiatives. The app has already proven to be successful in the pilot program and I look forward to marketing the app even more this semester and monitor its usage. I am very thankful to Dr. Christensen and his students for partnering with us to develop this amazing app."

For now, the app will continue being tested by students in the Academic Foundations Seminar. It may be used during future orientations for new freshmen at USF, and improvements are planned to expand the app to other USF campuses.

MoBull Wellness is available for students both on iPhone and Android phones.