Franciscan University Boosts Online Student Awareness by 80% with Pathify
Franciscan University Boosts Online Student Awareness by 80% with Pathify
Quick Summary:
Franciscan University of Steubenville used Pathify to create “The Port,” a unified platform to connect all students and extend their culture of hospitality to online learners.
Before Pathify, online students received irrelevant communications, leading to a “culture gap.” After launching “The Port” in 2022, online student awareness of opportunities increased by nearly 80% by Spring 2025.
“The Port” provides a personalized digital experience, showing relevant content to online students and serving as a “lifeline to culture and campus” for all, redefining community in the digital age.
Guided by a heritage of genuine welcome and support, Franciscan University of Steubenville operates under three core values: encounter, community and conversion. When the university launched its online student life department, Franciscan Life Online, the team faced a challenge close to the heart of their identity — extending their cherished culture and community to a diverse online student body, spread across all 50 states and 17 countries.
As Director of Franciscan Life Online, Lindsey Haynes refused to accept that authentic community had geographic limitations. She and Apple White, Assistant Director of Institutional Effectiveness, recognized the need to translate the deeply personal, relationship-centered culture into a digital environment serving and connecting students across the globe.
A Culture Gap for Online Learners
Before Pathify, Franciscan’s digital infrastructure made it challenging for online learners to feel included. Online students drowned in irrelevant communications — campus dining updates, residence hall policies and on-ground event announcements. It felt like the antithesis of true hospitality, Haynes recalled. “Before, online students received the same emails as on-campus students,” she continued. “99.9% of those emails did not apply to the online students, so the emails were often left unread.”
Initially, Haynes sought a community and communication tool to use specifically with online students. But when Franciscan’s leadership recognized Pathify’s potential, the vision expanded. Instead of a standalone system for one segment of students, Franciscan invested in a unified platform to connect all students — both online and residential — with university life. “Imagine asking for socks for Christmas and getting a car instead,” Haynes laughed, reflecting on how her request blossomed into an institution-wide initiative.
The Gateway to Campus Culture
In 2022, Franciscan leveraged Pathify to launch “The Port” — its new campus platform. Named after a beloved campus chapel, “The Port” became a symbolic digital entryway where every student steps into the richness of university life.
At its core, the platform continually strives to embody a key user experience-focused principle: digital hospitality — ensuring students, faculty and staff find what matters to them when they need it. The team used Pathify to build a personalized experience from the ground up, beginning with basic segmentation — provisioning students by learning method.
For the university’s 1,200 online learners, virtual events and online-specific content and resources take center stage while campus dining and on-campus events remain hidden. “Even down to the images — we don’t want to show online students photos of students walking around campus if it isn’t part of their experience,” Haynes explained. This focus on relevance shaped every aspect of the platform’s design, from visuals to information architecture, ensuring each student’s experience reflects their unique Franciscan journey.
Turning Awareness into Action
Since launching “The Port,” online student event participation jumped more than 45% — marking a fundamental shift in student awareness. In Franciscan’s Spring 2023 annual survey, 69% of online students reported feeling aware of available opportunities and resources. By Spring 2025, the same awareness sentiment soared to 94% — a nearly 80% increase.
“Online students show increasing awareness of resources,” Haynes said. “We experienced an uptick in participation because they know what’s happening. Opportunities and information no longer hide in emails — they’re front and center now.”
For Apple White, “The Port” provides the potential to tie portal utilization to student success. Pathify helps the university move towards more comprehensive student engagement data, making it easier to correlate engagement with other aspects of the student experience.“It’s a window into the student’s journey— online and on-ground,” White commented.
Progress, Not Perfection
Three years after launching “The Port,” Franciscan University continues accelerating — investing in “The Port’s” mobile app, exploring new Hub Experience features and, in collaboration with Dynamic Campus, its IT service provider partner, systematically folding additional systems into the platform. Perhaps the most significant change lies in the mindset “The Port” cultivates. “We’re always working to improve ‘The Port,’” Haynes said. “We’re not satisfied with the status quo. While higher ed often assumes ‘that’s just how things work,’ we’re pushing departments to think differently and embrace change.”
Franciscan’s evolution reflects a deep transformation in student experience. “For all students, ‘The Port’ represents a lifeline to our culture and campus,” White explained. In reimagining how students access information and resources, Franciscan achieved something powerful — redefining what it means to belong to a community in the digital age, and proving the doorway remains open and welcoming — no matter where students call home.
About Franciscan University of Steubenville:
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a private Catholic institution, serving approximately 4,250 undergraduate and graduate students at its Steubenville, Ohio campus and online. Renowned for its strong theology, philosophy and catechetics programs, students experience daily Mass and active campus ministry, all centered around the university’s mission to “Live the Truth.” Learn more at franciscan.edu.
