Technology Plays Major Role in ACT’s Vision

As part of its new vision, ACT will be using technology even more effectively in the future to broaden communication among its employees and customers.

“Our employees will use social media solutions to communicate with each other across our different areas in the Iowa City office and throughout our regional offices,” said Rose Rennekamp, vice president, ACT Communications. “We will also use them to connect individually with our customers, including teachers, parents, students, and job seekers, many of whom use social media as their main form of communication.”

Several ACT Communications team members worked on the mobile applications, including (from left) Dmitry Shpakov, Jeff Skinner, and John Saterfiel.

ACT has released two applications for iPhone^® and iPod touch^® users, which are available free on the App Store^SM, to more directly communicate with its primary customers: students and their parents.

The ACT College Search app was created to assist students with their college search activities and highlights ACT’s continued commitment to student success. A set of filters allows students to narrow search results to the colleges and universities that meet their unique criteria. The ACT College Search app for iPhone and iPod draws upon information gathered directly from colleges and universities nationwide through ACT’s extensive annual survey of postsecondary institutions.

ACT has released two mobile applications for iPhone and iPod touch users, which are now available on the App store. The ACT College Search app is shown on the left; the ACT Student app is on the right.

The ACT College Search app for iPhone and iPod allows users to search for colleges and universities through five filters: locations, type, size, admission, and cost. Once users have entered their preferences on those criteria, the application returns results based on their choices. Users can add colleges to their favorites list as they move through the results. Each college or university page provides a map of the school’s location and links to the school’s website and its social media networks. Other information provided includes degrees offered, tuition, student demographics, admission requirements, average first-year student ACT scores, and housing options.

Another free application—the ACT Student app—offers clusters of information about the ACT test. Users can access practice questions and helpful tips. They can also access limited information specific to them about their registration and score status. Short videos providing more information, such as which items to bring to the test center on test day, are available on this mobile application.

“It’s becoming clear that people want information on the go. Because of this and in line with our sustainability initiatives, we will be moving toward offering more information over the Web and less in a printed format. In fact, chances are good that Activity readers could be viewing the publication in an entirely digital format in the near future,” said ACT CEO Jon Whitmore.

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