From Brand-New to Campus Staple

John Brown University Amplifies Digital Experience with Eaglenet

From Brand-New to Campus Staple

John Brown University Amplifies Digital Experience with Eaglenet

John Brown University (JBU) supercharged their digital campus experience when they moved from an outdated SharePoint portal to Eaglenet, their customized, branded Pathify hub. JBU prides itself on creating delightful experiences, and the SharePoint portal no longer measured up. Content management became cumbersome, and SharePoint lacked the smooth, intuitive interface JBU needed to serve its students, staff and faculty in a changing world. Paul Nast, Chief Information Officer at JBU, explained they found Pathify when searching for a portal with the ability to truly mirror their best-in-class campus experience. Eaglenet launched in 2020 — and five years later it serves as the central hub for the entire campus.

Connecting Campus in New Ways

Building a Better Digital Experience

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, JBU froze many of their institutional projects. However, they kept their foot on the gas implementing Pathify in order to tackle an urgent need — enabling seamless communication and online collaboration as campus leaders stared down the unknowns of hybrid learning. Implementation proved smooth and simple, in large part because of the intentional collaboration between departments who looked at the portal as a shared effort to benefit the entire campus. 

The switch to Pathify boosted efficiency and connectivity across campus. Whereas managing content in SharePoint consumed valuable time and resources, Pathify enabled Nast and his team to hand pages over to appropriate departments and empower them to create and manage content — so information stays accurate and up to date — without the hassle. Nast emphasized teamwork as the key to Eaglenet’s success. IT worked closely with marketing and communications teams to ensure the portal reflected the institution as a whole, which drove significant adoption with students and staff. “Marketing and communications helped with promotional videos and created a splash. But more importantly, they advocated for the end-users and ran the project from their perspective,” Nast elaborated.

Personalized Solutions for Every Student

Fostering Community & Connection

Eaglenet launched as an effort to upgrade the digital experience and connect the campus in a hybrid environment. From there, it evolved into a rich social and community platform. Clubs and groups quickly recognized Eaglenet Communities as a space to develop an online presence to connect and engage their members. Even for a primarily residential campus, clubs need a place to house announcements and information, especially in an increasingly digital world. With the templates already set up, organizations create and manage their digital Groups with ease, further solidifying the continuity between on-campus and digital experience. “For us, Eaglenet is a branded destination everybody knows. When we’re in meetings and discussing initiatives, I just say ‘go search Eaglenet’ and everybody knows how to do it.” Nast remarked.

The Future of Eaglenet

About John Brown University:

Join us in

Challenging the Status Quo