Hitting Refresh at Pima Community College
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Sonoran Desert, Pima Community College (PCC) stands as a vital cornerstone of the Tucson metropolitan community. Serving over 30,000 students across five campuses and four education centers, the College commits to meeting the needs of its vibrant and diverse student body.
For Isaac Abbs, Pima’s Chief Information Officer, ensuring seamless, user-friendly and scalable digital experiences remains a top priority in advancing the College’s mission. With Pathify, PCC found the perfect partner to bring its vision to life, with a centralized platform enhancing the student experience.
Out With The Old
For years, Pima relied on a portal and mobile app that felt outdated and was becoming unstable. “The user experience felt subpar,” Abbs explained. “Students and employees struggled to navigate the old system.”
Abbs and his team moved deliberately away from their legacy system, seeking guidance from peer institutions on new, best-in-class solutions. He connected with fellow Pathify customers like Ventura County Community College and Des Moines Area Community College, both users of the same ERP — Ellucian Banner. “Hearing from peers who use similar technology gave us confidence in our decision,” said Abbs. “We had a long list of needs — web/mobile parity, robust integration capabilities, community features and consumer-grade design, and Pathify delivered on all.”
A Methodical Approach
The team soft-launched its new MyPima portal in August 2024, using the opportunity to gather feedback, refine widgets and integrations and address user provisioning processes. A beta launch in December focused on additional customizations and API integrations. The full launch, in January 2025, brought the entire campus community onto the new platform. “It’s a big change but a positive change,” Abbs noted. “We’re focused on ensuring everyone adopts the mobile app and ensuring the search functionality remains robust as users transition to the new system.”
Abbs highlighted specific contributions, such as the Web Systems department branding the site, the Media department designing custom widget icons, the PCCTV team producing a “coming soon” sizzle reel to generate excitement and Library representatives organizing labels to enhance search functionality. “It truly took a village effort,” he said.
The Heart of the Project
The success of Pima’s Pathify transition stems from collaborating across the college’s departments. Abbs highlighted how MyPima didn’t solely rely on IT’s initiative but a collective effort involving 27 departments contributing expertise, input and feedback. “Departments across campus — Student Affairs, IT, Facilities, the Registrar, even the campus Police Department — came together in developing MyPima,” he shared.
Abbs highlighted specific contributions, such as the Web Systems department branding the site, the Media department designing custom widget icons, the PCCTV team producing a “coming soon” sizzle reel to generate excitement and Library representatives organizing labels to enhance search functionality. “It truly took a village effort,” he said.
Excited For the Future
The new MyPima dashboard reflects the collective needs and contributions of the entire college community. “We’re proud of how our dashboard looks and how the whole College came together to create something everyone stands behind,” Abbs shared. “Teamwork shines through in the final product — it’s not just an IT success, it’s a win for the entire Pima community.”
Abbs remains confident the new platform will continue elevating the Pima campus experience while streamlining operations across departments. “I believe we have an incredible opportunity to achieve greatness at Pima Community College,” said Abbs. “The entire campus is constantly challenged to excel and Pathify empowers us to showcase our greatness.”
Pima Community College launched its Pathify portal in January 2025.
