CampusGroups selected as Case Western Reserve University’s new community-engagement platform

As communication moves from paper fliers tacked to bulletin boards to group chats and mobile apps, Case Western Reserve University is keeping pace—ensuring that students, and others across campus, can stay up-to-date on campus events and activities with the tap of a button or click of a mouse. Now, the campus community can connect through Case Western Reserve University’s new community-engagement platform, CampusGroups. A community-engagement platform supports involvement outside the classroom, and CampusGroups facilitates this by providing streamlined group and event management, communication, and administrative and assessment tools.

Why the change?

CampusGroups replaces OrgSync as Case Western Reserve University’s community-engagement platform. When OrgSync announced that it would merge with another platform, the Division of Student Affairs, which hosts the university’s community-engagement platform, decided to consider its options. In partnership with University Technology, the division evaluated other platforms. Over about a year, the units met with constituents across campus to learn more about what features the campus community considered most important. Ultimately, the divisions hosted two vendor demonstrations, with attendees overwhelming expressing their interest in CampusGroups. “People are really excited to see what all CampusGroups can do,” said Annah Mueller, the web platform administrator and project manager. While OrgSync was primarily geared toward students and opportunities hosted through the Division of Student Affairs, the team managing the transition realized there was widespread interest in having a platform that could connect faculty, staff and students and incorporate school-based organizations. For that reason, CampusGroups provides portals for undergraduate and graduate groups, the schools, offices and other units across campus. “This is really all about groups, and we have them all over campus—and they’re not just student groups,” said Dennis Rupert, associate vice president of operations and planning in the Office of Student Affairs. Learn more about the transition to CampusGroups.

About CampusGroups

CampusGroups can be accessed through web browsers at community.case.edu or through the CampusGroups app, available for download through mobile app stores. The platform offers a searchable database of organizations, which members of the community can join to stay up to date with what’s happening. CampusGroups also serves as the official webspace of student organizations, giving them a place to post all of the important information about their groups. Through the platform, group leaders can view members, share documents, forms and surveys, send out newsletters and more. In addition to email functionality, members also can communicate via one-on-one and group chats. CampusGroups also will give organization leaders better tools to manage their events, including online and in-app ticket sales linked through PayPal, automatic wait listing, and the ability to cohost events with other groups. Each CampusGroups member also receives his or her own unique QR code, which can be scanned at events to track attendance. A comprehensive calendar also shows the campus community what’s happening on campus with the option to RSVP. “I think it’s a way for them to be connected to their groups, to be connected with their friends, to be informed in what’s going on and to allow them to make some informed choices about what they participate in,” Rupert said. “It’s not just up to the luck of the poster that’s hanging in their lobby anymore.”