Modern Tech for a Multi-Gen Campus at Utah State University
It’s 8 A.M. on a Monday. After wrangling the kids through breakfast and school dropoff, Sarah checks her email for class updates. Josh signs his billing agreement and finalizes financial aid before heading into work. And Emily drinks a big cup of coffee while she RSVPs for an event on the quad after receiving a push notification. All three students experience a different journey through college. They come from different generations, have different communication styles…and traditional higher ed technology doesn’t completely serve any of them.
The old school one-size-fits-all approach leaves students hunting for information and support, rather than focused on what really matters — connection and success. Utah State University (USU) took a human-centered approach and modernized the digital experience, without a massive budget or timeline, delivering meaningful impact across generations and empowering student success.
Three Generations, One Experience
Our 30 campuses welcome students, staff and faculty from every generation, and while we may joke about the ever-widening and sometimes comical chasm between Gen X, millennials and Gen Z, creating delightful experiences for every campus member remains a non-negotiable.
Human-centered design became the cornerstone of our digital transformation — we studied different student types on campus and strategically removed specific barriers each group encountered. In today’s higher ed landscape, three generations converge, all deserving a modern, engaging digital experience.
Let’s consider the different generations and their relationships with technology. Gen X, known as the “latchkey” generation, was the last generation to grow up with a primarily analog childhood. Millennials, often referred to as the “anxious” generation, experienced the traditionalist world but came of age in the digital world. And, finally, Gen Z, the “zoomer” generation, are digital natives raised in a world where the internet always existed.
Real cultural differences exist between these three generations. For example, consider the various generational communication styles. Gen X will call you without warning and anticipate you to pick up the phone, while millennials will text and ask, “Can I call you?” first. Meanwhile, Gen Z interprets a phone call as an emergency (and may ask, “Why not just send a text?”). Three completely different communication preferences. Now imagine making plans with all three of them — something I do all the time with my family, and something we do daily on campus. Gen X picks a time and shows up early. Millennials create a group chat, debate the location and then send a “running 15 minutes late” text. Gen Z sees plans as fluid and shows up if the vibes feel right. Now, I’m generalizing here, but campus communities come with a wide variety of communication styles and preferences — and great technology adapts to how each user engages.
The Evolving Student
When Utah State University decided to modernize its digital experience, we knew we first needed to deeply understand our students. To guide the project, we identified key personas based on the three generations, each with unique profiles and expectations. This approach allowed us to keep humans at the center of our design methodology, ensuring the changes we implemented met the right needs and expectations.
Meet Sarah, a Gen X adult learner and working professional returning to the university to complete her degree. Between juggling a full-time job, a family and studies, time represents her most valuable asset. She needs simple, user-friendly technology, but she also values personal connection.
Next, there’s Josh, the millennial grad student, well-established in his career and seeking efficient degree completion. Josh grew up with evolving technology, so he expects the same from the systems around him. To stay on track, he needs quick, customized information to support his goals.
Finally, Emily, a bright, tech-savvy incoming freshman, grew up with instant, personalized information at her fingertips. She anticipates technology-rich experiences accessible through apps on her mobile device and tablet. She values real-life connections and expects technology to enable them.
Meeting Diverse Needs
Understanding the diverse needs of our students and their expectations of institutional technology enabled USU to shape an effective digital strategy, which we partnered with Pathify to bring to fruition. “MyUSU,” our university-branded, Pathify-powered platform, serves as a centralized hub offering role-based, personalized and timely information alongside opportunities for connection. The kicker? It didn’t take years to implement, and it didn’t break the budget.
No matter which type of student walks onto campus, “MyUSU” contains all essential tools and information — a single plane of glass with easy-to-access information viewable on any device, at any time.
Sarah sets up her dashboard as a quick navigation tool with her most-used widgets at the top. When she logs in — whether on her work laptop or her phone between meetings — she sees campus and college groups (auto-assigned to her), helping her to network with relevant employees and departments. Most importantly, she accesses course information, financial payments and academic support in one place — making it easy to integrate school into her already full schedule.
“MyUSU” provides Josh with an individualized, customizable feed surfacing tasks, events and tailored communications within a sleek interface similar to his other technology experiences.
He uses search when he needs answers fast, skipping the endless scrolling. Allergic to email, Josh receives relevant updates through targeted push notifications, which means fewer distractions, noise and tailoring communications to his needs — no more unruly inboxes.
Over the summer, Emily explored the “MyUSU” app — checking out clubs, upcoming events and even DMing a few students in her major. By the time move-in day comes, Emily’s not just ready — she’s already involved. “MyUSU” feels like the other apps she uses daily — intuitive, colorful and personalized. Groups give her a safe, low-pressure space to connect with her peers, professors and campus staff. And her calendar surfaces events that match her interests, helping her find her people and build friendships. For Emily, “MyUSU” makes campus feel like home.
Simple Investments, Meaningful Impact
After launching “MyUSU,” we consistently tracked and analyzed data, illuminating usage trends and gaps in our experience. Using in-platform Analytics, our team created an annual report, highlighting 2024 “MyUSU” data and showcasing its impact on student engagement. With a student population of roughly 34,000, “MyUSU” logged 6.5 million sessions in 2024 — with mobile accounting for over a third of those sessions.
We kept a close eye on the content and tools students used most frequently, ensuring dashboards remained informative and easy to navigate. In 2024, 4.5 million sessions visited the dashboard, which surfaces the most important information right on their home page — customizable to fit their needs.
We also analyzed adoption trends over time. In 2024, nearly 3,000 students joined an event in “MyUSU,” a 50% increase from 2023. Even more impressive, Groups saw 6,300 joins and 4,400 comments and reactions. Students forge connections digitally and in-person, with the Engagement Hub serving as the bridge between the two. The data told a clear story — students eagerly adopted “MyUSU” as their go-to place for campus information, forming meaningful connections and the building blocks of their success at USU.
Driving Success and Engagement
Focusing on human-centered design principles and working to deeply understand our student population served as the guiding pillars for USU’s project to revitalize and modernize the digital experience. Sarah doesn’t want to hunt through multiple systems to find her tuition bill. Josh doesn’t need another email cluttering his inbox. And Emily definitely isn’t going to download yet another app that goes unused. While traditional higher ed websites and portals require each of these student personas to interact with the tool in the same way (clunky, outdated), the “MyUSU” hub allows them to self-serve information and support in their preferred way.
Instead of forcing three generations to adapt to our (painfully) outdated systems, we built something that adapts to them. Technology continues evolving, and “MyUSU” evolves along with it. But the lesson remains — design for humans first, and let engagement and success follow. With a personalized one-stop-shop, campus community members spend less time searching and more time engaging and learning from one another.
About the Rene Eborn
Rene is the Associate Vice President of Digital Transformation at Utah State University. A dynamic higher education leader with extensive experience in digital transformation, student success and IT strategy, she thrives in optimizing institutional performance through innovative technology solutions. Rene is passionate about leveraging digital tools to enhance student engagement and improve operational efficiency. When she’s not leading the charge on campus, you’ll find her hiking, skiing fresh powder or adventuring with her family.
