I think it’s a wonderful idea to promote mondo to students at universities. Also a student myself, when I first heard mondo, I have never thought of registering using my student email account. I am not sure how easily it is to amend ‘account details’ or switch email addresses as your current student email account may very well only be valid until graduation. It might be something worth thinking about while campaigning and promoting mondo?
I believe it is planned that at some stage it will be possible to change the registered email yourself within the app but currently you have to contact support and ask them to do it for you.
I’m not really keen on Mondo checking for a .ac.uk email address to verify students. I suspect many students would sign up with their home, personal email. When I went to uni you lost access to your student email after you graduated, so I certainly wouldn’t sign up for a bank with it.
Perhaps they could link up with, say, UNiDAYS? Not only have they got the student verification program sorted, but could offer marketing assistance as well.
Exactly, when I did my undergrad I lost my student account right after I graduated. So I have been using mondo with my personal account. I guess it also feels more ‘personal’ and it’s the email account you are most likely to keep using.
Just to give you all a heads up, the .ac.uk signup issue has been pointed out already here
The initial feedback was
And @bailey’s last suggestion was
But it has been a while since this was talked about.
Thanks for the info! I have indeed missed out the whole discussion.
Aside from the very sensible UNiDAYS suggestion, some kind of authentication through the NUS.
Failing that, the journey associated with setting up a Student Account could be very clear in asking for both a personal and academic email address (without considerations on which one/s you make mandatory) so as to avoid messy changes in details afterwards.
UNiDAYS is good. Accepting NUS card numbers or national student identity card numbers too.
there is also the OpenAthens authentication which is for wider international academic:
http://www.openathens.net/
Great points
We’re launching a student program in September which will give students signing up with their ac.uk email address priority access to Mondo.
We thought about other ways to verify accounts but this was the simplest and easiest to communicate - so ac.uk addresses will unlock new users very soon.
We’ve spoken to UNiDAYS and thought about other ways around the sign up issue, so we might look at changing this in the future
@bailey Is there going to be a big banner on the signup page telling students to use the .ac.uk email?
It could well be worth sending people signed up with an .ac.uk email a line around June reminding them to switch to a personal email before they graduate.
Would be cool to also run a scheme where you can help promote Mondo (especially during Freshers). Can imagine it being useful for everyone when I start in September
I think that is the plan ultimately, but I’m not 100% sure. If @bailey could confirm/deny this, it would be great
Is there any benefit to having a student account other than priority access if you’ve not already signed up?
Have you considered acting as a Shibboleth SP and using https://www.ukfederation.org.uk/ to verify student status? I know my university has an IdP implementation over at https://websignon.warwick.ac.uk
Probably also worth noting that .ac.uk emails are also valid for academic staff as well as students.