Otis College of Art and Design Modernized Engagement and Increased Adoption
Otis College of Art and Design Modernized Engagement and Increased Adoption
Quick Summary:
The Problem: Otis College of Art and Design’s outdated SharePoint portal was text-heavy, not mobile-friendly, and failed to represent their brand, leading to poor user experience, low engagement, and heavy content management overhead for the IT team.
The Solution: Otis partnered with Pathify to launch “MyOtis,” a cloud-based, one-stop campus portal and mobile app that serves as a single, secure entry point to all core systems (LMS, SIS, email). The new platform offers a modern, customizable interface with personalized, role-based dashboards.
The Results: Centralization of resources and communications in MyOtis led to a significant increase in daily logins and student engagement. It also reduced the burden on IT by offloading content management to individual departments, streamlined the admitted student process, and provided a unified, consistent, and secure digital experience across the campus.
An Outdated Portal Created Barriers for Users
Before Pathify, Otis College of Art and Design lacked a robust, centralized digital hub for students, staff and faculty. They relied on an outdated SharePoint portal, which was text-heavy, difficult to manage and not mobile-friendly. The poor experience meant users only logged in to complete tasks, and even then, finding information proved frustrating.
The old portal failed to represent the Otis experience, as a top art school which values creativity and innovation. “As a user, the old portal felt dated. It was difficult to update and not user-friendly,” emphasized Jackie Weissman, Director of Marketing at Otis. “From a marketing perspective, it had a totally different look and feel from our brand. We wanted something that looked clean and consistent with our public website.”
Additionally, content creation and portal management sat primarily with IT, creating heavy lifts for a lean team and long delays anytime information needed updating or bugs needed fixing. The portal also lacked key integrations and a mobile app. As a forward-thinking art school, Otis recognized the need for a modern, user-friendly interface to match their dynamic website and better support student success.
Pathify Centralized Tools and Improved User Experience
Driven by a commitment to finding innovative solutions, Otis partnered with Pathify to create MyOtis, a cloud-based, one-stop campus portal and mobile app to serve as the secure, single entry point for students, faculty and staff to access core systems and applications — including the LMS, SIS, email and event calendars. Pathify’s modern and customizable front-end enabled continuity in the look and feel between the website and portal, delivering a truly user-friendly platform with crucial tools and resources right on the home page.
Pathify’s role-based configuration allowed Otis to customize dashboards by user type, so all users — from admitted students to staff and faculty — see what’s most important for their needs. “Pathify serves as the ‘front door’ to everything students, staff and faculty need to be successful,” explained Evangeline Kim, Executive Director, Enterprise Applications. “It’s the single entry point for all of our resources, and with the ability to customize widgets, we surface exactly what users need for their specific experience.”
“Our goal was to get students more involved and engaged,” Kim continued, “With the ability to send targeted notifications and assign tasks, Pathify really was the best solution.” Engagement extends beyond current students — admitted students get access to MyOtis too, bridging the gap between acceptance and enrollment to keep students on track. Admitted students access their next steps in the portal at any time, rather than waiting for the Admissions team to reach out. Leveraging MyOtis enabled Admissions to cut back the number of emails sent to admitted students — streamlining the process for both students and staff.
Streamlining Digital Experience Boosted Engagement
Centralizing resources and notifications in MyOtis streamlined communication and increased student engagement. “Before Pathify, users only logged into the old portal when they absolutely had to. Now, they log in every day to find important resources like their schedule, grades and announcements,” Kim emphasized.
As the college’s single plane of glass, MyOtis also elevated the rest of the Otis tech stack. “Pathify connected and amplified our existing systems. We get more value out of those tools and applications because users actually know where to find them. Everything is in MyOtis, their one-stop shop,” Kim remarked.
REDUCED IT OVERHEAD AND UNIFIED THE OTIS EXPERIENCE
With the ability to designate roles and permissions in MyOtis, the IT team offloaded content management to individual departments — saving valuable IT resources and reducing overhead. “We empower staff and faculty to manage their own content. Without having to send things through IT, they get faster updates and reduce bottlenecks in the process,” Kim explained.
Moving content behind an authenticated view both secured and streamlined the public website. Removing internal content added a crucial level of security and protection against malicious attacks. This also freed Otis to use its public site as a marketing tool, rather than a repository of campus-wide information. Now, branding is consistent across platforms, providing users with a cohesive experience, reflective of the college’s visuals and values.
“The whole campus adopted MyOtis. We frequently hear folks reference the platform and see them publishing content and accessing everything they need. We’ve seen high adoption because it’s so user-friendly and accessible,” Weissman emphasized.
About Otis College of Art and Design:
At Otis College of Art and Design, we empower creative students to shape the future. Since our founding in 1918, we have been at the forefront of art and design education, nurturing talent and innovation. Our programs are designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to excel across creative industries. With an emphasis on both foundational skills and emerging technologies, our curriculum ensures that you are prepared to meet the challenges of the modern world. To learn more visit otis.edu
