Concordia University Wisconsin Expands with Communities
Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) selected Pathify’s Campus Experience Platform (CXP) in 2024 to build myCUW, a unified digital hub with full web and mobile parity. Previously, the university operated with separate, disconnected portals, including a Luminis web portal, Ready Education mobile app and numerous workarounds in between. “We consolidated our legacy web and app portals into Pathify to create a more seamless experience,” said Brett Seider, Director of Administrative Computing and Chief Information Officer at CUW.
CUW’s ecosystem-first approach also guided its thinking around student community and engagement. The missing piece didn’t involve another tool — it extended the foundation already in place, with Pathify Communities delivering a layer that fit naturally inside myCUW, giving the university a platform to grow into — not out of.
Closing the Gap Between Admit and Enroll
Before Communities, Concordia relied on EAB Wisr largely as an admitted student engagement tool. But the university saw widening inconsistencies. “It became clear we had a gap as incoming students transitioned into the university,” said Kara Janowski, Director of Student Engagement. “We connected students early, but we also directed them to tasks and resources scattered across multiple systems. We also struggled to generate adoption and buy-in from current students.”
Continuity also presented a challenge. Students joined Wisr using personal emails during the admissions process, only to face confusion during onboarding when required to use their new CUW credentials.
The team originally explored Communities during their initial Pathify evaluation — and Wisr’s sunset provided the right opportunity to rethink community, connection and continuity. “We saw an opportunity to consolidate the community experience for both incoming and current students,” Janowski explained.
Reducing Barriers to Connection
Communities delivered precisely what CUW needed — an environment for students to build relationships inside the same ecosystem where they complete tasks, check coursework, access support resources, and engage with campus information.
“Pathify integrates with our single sign-on, so students don’t even need to create an account in the first place — a huge step in eliminating continuity challenges,” Janowski said. With automatic provisioning tied to institutional credentials, the friction of juggling personal emails, new usernames and passwords disappeared.
Automated group membership — one of CUW’s most persistent needs — now places students into the right groups at the right times. “We lacked access to that functionality before,” Seider said. “We wanted the ability to automatically drop students into certain groups, so the burden wasn’t on students to discover. It gives us more control over their experience and how and when they connect.”
Scaling Community Experiences
CUW launched Pathify Communities in November 2025, beginning with traditional undergraduates, staff and faculty, and plans to expand groups and events for online and graduate students in the coming semester. Janowski and her team built spaces reflecting the real CUW experience, including residence hall groups, campus life communities and ministry groups tied to the university’s faith-based mission — spaces where students connect authentically and organically. They also rebuilt popular logistic-based spaces, like the CUW Buy, Sell, Trade group, which quickly drew students into the new platform.
Next, the team will fully launch Communities for the incoming fall 2026 cohort, using it to strengthen new student orientation programming, build early belonging and reduce summer melt. For Janowski, even small shifts feel meaningful. “If it moves the needle — even by a few students — because they log in and think, ‘wow, look at these events,’ feel more connected to our community, or find a roommate, that’s amazing. If early activity and engagement help them stay committed and enroll, then it’s absolutely worth it.”
CUW’s Digital Heartbeat
With Communities, CUW now guides students into the right groups from the moment they’re admitted, keeping them engaged throughout their entire higher education journey. The university already built a strong foundation with its Pathify Hub and app, but Communities optimizes the picture — bringing students together, strengthening belonging, encouraging connection, and sustaining the kind of community that positively influences student success.
About Concordia University Wisconsin
- Student Headcount: 4,577
- Institution Type: Private university
- Location: Mequon, Wisconsin
- Tech Stack: Ellucian Banner, Canvas
- Technology Consolidated into Pathify: Student portal, third-party mobile app, standalone groups & events tool
Located in Mequon, Wisconsin, Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is part of the Concordia University system, a nationwide network of colleges and universities each independently run but all affiliated with The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. For more than 140 years, Concordia has educated students for lives of Christian leadership and service, including across a range of professional fields and across church career education. Learn more at cuw.edu.