Colorado Christian University Reimagines its Digital Campus with Pathify
Colorado Christian University Reimagines its Digital Campus with Pathify
Quick Summary:
Colorado Christian University (CCU) faced challenges with a fragmented digital campus, leading to a poor user experience and security risks due to content spread across various disparate systems.
CCU partnered with Pathify to unify its digital campus, centralizing tools and resources, securing systems with single sign-on, and personalizing content for individual users.
The new platform, CCU Connect, revolutionized the digital campus experience by streamlining communication, reducing missed messages, and delegating administrative responsibilities, ultimately fostering a more connected and engaged community.
Tech Sprawl Created Poor Experience & Security Risks
For years, Colorado Christian University (CCU) dealt with a disjointed link farm portal to house important information and resources. Content spread across disparate systems left CCU users confused and frustrated, while exposing the institution to security risks. “Not only did people avoid using our old portal, but they also created their own websites with unauthorized content meant for internal populations,” explained Chris Franz, Assistant Vice President of Communication and Creative Services. “It was nearly impossible to find anything because information was housed in so many locations.”
The old portal was painful to use, bloated with outdated content, and lacked filtering capabilities — making finding resources difficult. In order to serve an array of campus users and their needs, CCU sought a customizable, user-friendly solution to secure internal and delegate administrative responsibilities. Rather than adopting another point solution, CCU took a holistic approach to their digital transformation — improving communication and fostering digital community for the entire campus.
From Siloed Systems to Unified Campus Platform
Franz and team emphasized the importance of partnership and collaboration in their success. “One of the key deciding factors in choosing Pathify was their ability to truly partner with us. A lot of vendors talk about partnership, but Pathify really epitomized that value in our work together,” Franz said.
By moving to Pathify, CCU:
- Centralized tools and resources, eliminating confusion and frustration
- Secured systems and information by moving tools behind single sign-on
- Personalized content to individual users, regardless of their journey
- Streamlined communication to students, decreasing the number of missed messages
- Delegated administrative responsibilities to ease burden on lean IT team
Reduced Security Risks
Pathify enabled CCU to transform its digital ecosystem, securing sensitive information, personalizing content to individual users and delegating administrative permission. The new portal, CCU Connect, provided a unified experience for students, staff and faculty to access the systems, information and people to make them successful. “We chose the name CCU Connect because we saw this as the place for all of our constituents in our internal community to connect with tools, resources and one another,” Franz said.
Customized, Personalized Content for Every User
CCU leveraged groups, pages and tasks to dynamically deliver content — a huge upgrade from the links and folders the previous portal relied on. Recognizing that each group needed different information and tools depending on their journey, CCU Connect used Pathify Roles to surface personalized content to help everyone — from incoming students to staff to graduate students — through every stage of their campus experience.
Student Life adopted CCU Connect to onboard incoming students, using notifications, tasks and advising groups to jumpstart admitted students on their journey. “At the beginning of a hectic school year, people asked questions in groups — and often, by the next day, another student had jumped in to answer,” said Franz. Beyond students, Human Resources also moved employee communications to the hub, leveraging it to administer open enrollment and their annual employee survey.
Targeted Communications = No More Missed Emails
With Pathify at the helm, CCU moved away from mass Listserv emails to targeted communications directly in CCU Connect, which users view on desktop or mobile. “We found students never read their emails. And the more we sent, the more overwhelming it became. Students are much more connected and engaged because they see relevant messages on their mobile browser or app,” said Rachel Schaller, Systems Trainer.
Revolutionizing Digital Campus Experience
By moving to CCU Connect, the university didn’t just implement a new tech tool — they completely reimagined the digital campus experience, creating a unified, user-friendly platform to serve the needs of their entire campus community.
About Colorado Christian University:
Founded in 1914, Colorado Christian University (CCU) is the leading interdenominational Christian university in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Located in Lakewood, Colorado, a vibrant suburb of Denver, CCU offers a world-class Christian education that transforms students to impact the world with grace and truth. As a recognized leader in higher education, CCU is consistently ranked among the top universities in the United States by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. With more than 9,800 students enrolled at the main campus in Lakewood, the Colorado Springs regional center, and through its robust online programs, CCU provides a diverse and flexible learning experience. Learn more at ccu.edu.
