CUSTOMER STORY
Chaffey College Moves 1,500 Orientation Check-Ins to Students’ Phones
Record enrollment met a redesigned process: MyChaffey replaced spreadsheets and a third-party event tool, cutting lines at the door and giving staff verified attendance data for the first time.
Quick Summary:
Centralized Student Hub: Chaffey College partnered with Pathify in 2021 to create MyChaffey, a comprehensive one-stop shop that unifies all tools for students, faculty, and staff, replacing previous unwieldy systems like manual spreadsheets and Eventbrite.
Streamlined Orientation Process: The college replaced manual orientation systems with Pathify Communities in Fall 2025, enabling students to register and check-in via mobile devices using QR codes, which streamlined the process for nearly 1,500 attendees at the main campus orientation and reduced the burden on staff.
Enhanced Communication and Transfer Support: The MyChaffey portal serves as a central location for communications, including an internal social media hub (“Panther Scene”). Additionally, the Transfer Center leverages Pathify Groups to share personalized information with transfer students, keeping them connected and on track for their next institution.
Unifying Tools into a Centralized Hub
Before Pathify, Chaffey College used a combination of manual spreadsheets and a separate Eventbrite platform to manage check-in and orientation across the college’s three campuses. As enrollment grew, the process became unwieldy, requiring significant time and resources from staff and leading to long wait lines at orientation.
Chaffey College partnered with Pathify in 2021 to create MyChaffey, their comprehensive one-stop shop for students, faculty and staff. The single interface unifies all the tools users need to navigate their campus experience — keeping them connected and on track to success.
Streamlining New Student Orientation
In Fall 2025, Chaffey replaced their manual systems with Pathify Communities to promote and host on-campus orientation for new students. Forget the paper spreadsheets and highlighters — students registered and RSVPed through the MyChaffey app or web portal, streamlining the process and ensuring all registrants were authenticated users. Pathify’s robust event management capabilities enabled Chaffey College and their students to:
- Surface and promote events, seamlessly integrated with institutional calendars
- Register and RSVP for events with just a few clicks
- Complete verified check-in from a mobile device
- Track attendance seamlessly
“We desperately needed to streamline the orientation and check-in process, and we wanted to track participation in this key step in the students’ journey,” said Mark Vidal, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Chaffey College. “With Pathify, we transformed a cumbersome process into something incredibly efficient. And, we didn’t have to use an additional third-party vendor to do it — saving us time and money.”
“With Pathify, we transformed a cumbersome process into something incredibly efficient. And, we didn’t have to use an additional third-party vendor to do it — saving us time and money.”
Mark Vidal
Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Chaffey College
More Students, Fewer Bottlenecks
When students arrived on campus, QR codes directed them to check in via their mobile device. By the time they arrived at orientation, they just showed their green checkmark in the app for verification and entrance to the event. And if anyone failed to register, staff still had the power to quickly add them to the event. With enrollment at an all-time high, the refreshed process came at the perfect time. Main campus orientation saw nearly 1,500 attendees, and check-in ran smoother than ever, easing the burden on staff and giving students an easy, welcoming introduction to campus.
ONE PLATFORM FOR EVERY JOURNEY
The orientation process also introduced students to the MyChaffey portal and mobile app, which they access throughout their journey to find events, check grades and connect with students and advisors. MyChaffey serves as the central location for all communications, including targeted announcements and groups like “Panther Scene,” an internal social media hub for news and information — where posts receive thousands of views and reactions.
“MyChaffey transformed the way the college engages students,” Vidal explained. “With a centralized hub for communication, we ensure students see the most relevant information, find crucial resources and discover opportunities for connection.”
Pathify Groups Drive Success for Transfer Students
As a community college, Chaffey prepares hundreds of students every year to transfer to four-year institutions. As students wrap up their time at Chaffey, the Transfer Center leverages Groups within MyChaffey to share important information personalized to the students and the institution they plan to attend after Chaffey. Students stay connected and on track, and staff reach students easily, without a flood of texts and emails.
“Hundreds of events take place on campus every semester. MyChaffey streamlines event and group management for departments and provides a more user-friendly experience for our entire campus community,” Vidal emphasized. Beyond orientation, the Chaffey team also plans to take advantage of Pathify’s upcoming Communities uplift, including co-curricular transcripts, more robust group customization and increased social collaboration tools.
About Chaffey College:
Chaffey College was founded in 1883, making it one of the oldest community colleges in California. Chaffey College improves lives and our communities through education with a steadfast commitment to equity and innovation to empower our diverse students who learn and thrive through excellent career, transfer, and workforce education programs that advance economic and social mobility for all.
Learn more at chaffey.edu/.
Pathify — built for higher ed
Consolidate the clutter. Elevate the experience.