Most people at Rutgers encounter go.rutgers.edu every day without much thought. A short link in an email. A QR code on a flyer. A redirect that gets you where you need to go. But over time, these small moments add up, shaping how information moves across the university.
At the center of these moments is a homegrown service built to make link sharing easier, more accessible, and free for faculty and staff: Enter go.rutgers.edu, the university’s official URL shortener. What began as a small, student-supported project has grown into a widely used platform that supports daily communication across Rutgers.
From a problem to a platform
The idea for go.rutgers.edu dates back to 2013, when Jack Chen, a system administrator with Enterprise Applications and Research Computing (EARC) in the Office of Information Technology, noticed inefficiencies in how shortened links were being created and shared. At the time, the university relied on a paid system that charged per link, and as more individuals became interested, the costs and approval times quickly began to add up.
“There had to be a better way,” Chen said.
Rather than accept the existing system, Chen began developing an internal URL shortener tailored specifically to Rutgers’ needs. And after securing the go.rutgers.edu hostname, the project took shape with the help of student workers. As of 2026, the platform has powered more than 129,000 links, generated over 33 million visits, and been adopted by 5,400+ Rutgers users.
Built with students, grown by students
From the beginning, students played a central role in building and maintaining go.rutgers.edu. The earliest version of the platform was implemented by a single student worker, who later helped restructure the codebase as usage expanded.
Today, Chen supervises a rotating team of four to five student developers who contribute to new features, accessibility improvements, and ongoing maintenance. Most balance this work alongside full Rutgers course loads and other campus jobs. Because student availability is often limited to short stretches each semester, the team works efficiently and adapts quickly to changing technologies.
That experience is designed to prepare students for professional roles beyond Rutgers. By January each year, student developers working on go.rutgers.edu are trained with the expectation that many will pursue summer internships, using their work on the platform as part of their professional portfolios.
For School of Arts and Sciences senior Andrew Hong, who previously worked at Rutgers Open System Solutions — a unit within EARC in the Office of Information Technology that employs student developers — the experience proved to be career-defining.
“Contributing to the go.rutgers.edu URL shortener was one of the most meaningful parts of my time as a student worker,” Hong said. “I worked on containerizing the developer environment, modernizing the design, and adding new functionality requested by faculty across the university. Being able to point to those real contributions in technical interviews was huge. It directly helped me secure an internship at Amazon Web Services.”
Other former student workers, like Peter Bandziukas and Kevin Monisit, shared similar experiences, going on to continue their work in software engineering at major tech giants, Cloudflare and AT&T. And for alum Anirvin Vaddiyar, go.rutgers.edu led him to pursue work in machine-learning at a startup.
More than just short links
While go.rutgers.edu is often seen simply as a way to shorten long URLs, the platform supports a range of uses across the university. Users can generate QR codes for print and digital materials, manage shared links at the organization level, and access analytics that help measure engagement. Mobile usability and accessibility also remain ongoing priorities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, usage of go.rutgers.edu surged as web conferencing links and digital communications became the norm, further cementing the platform as part of Rutgers’ digital infrastructure.
Behind the scenes, go.rutgers.edu also integrates with other university systems, including mass mailing tools, and supports shared link repositories that allow staff to access and reuse links created by previous team members. Different units use the platform in ways that extend beyond marketing, including libraries and academic programs that rely on QR codes for inventory and instructional materials.
“People often think of it as just a short link,” Chen said. “But it’s really about making information easier to access, manage, and share.”
Looking ahead
Development on go.rutgers.edu continues. Chen is exploring enhancements such as AI-generated custom URL suggestions and a Linktree-style feature that would allow faculty and staff to create centralized collections of links.
As go.rutgers.edu continues to evolve, much of its work will remain largely invisible, supporting everyday communication across the university while providing real-world experience for the students who help build and maintain it.
Student worker testimonials
Read text version of student worker testimonials [PDF]
Tags: graduates, IT community, New Brunswick, technology trends