Case Study
Clackamas Community College
Modernizing Student Pathways: Enqbator helps Clackamas Community College transform its digital engagement
- Project
- clackamas.edu
- Technologies
- Custom Integrations
- Custom Modules and Widgets
- Sitefinity CMS
- Industry
- Education
- Expertise
- Website Design UI/UX
- Hosting
- Custom Development
The Goal
- Improve the user journey throughout the site
- Create a stable, secure, and mobile responsive design
- Complete a full and complete site analysis
- Integrate major functionality with new CMS
- Provide a more seamless user experience for all college personnel
The Background
The Challenge
The Clackamas website architecture and back-end configuration was slowly growing unorganized, cluttered, and difficult to use. Elements of the home page were outdated and not being utilized by web visitors. In addition, students were having difficulty finding essential information, and Clackamas' goal was to improve mobile navigation to make it more user-friendly and easy to navigate. Challenges also existed with the integration of 3rd-party data.
A large part of that challenge was in developing a strategy to best integrate that data seamlessly into different parts of the website and portal. With all these challenges, the primary goal of Clackamas was to improve the guided pathways throughout the site, specifically for students, in order to make it easier for them to quickly and easily find their focus areas and explore, choose, plan, and complete their current programs or successfully transfer.
The Solution
To help understand the needs of the Clackamas' audience, Enqbator, in collaboration with the school’s marketing project teams and the college’s institutional research team, developed a user survey to gather feedback from current students, prospective students, faculty, staff, and community members. The survey brought in over 700 responses and helped guide the resulting design and development efforts.
As part of a “deep dive” to gather additional needed information, the Enqbator team worked together with the Clackamas staff to gather information about goals, vision, and pain points by conducting stakeholder and student interviews.
Personas were created based on real user data collected from the discovery phase. These personas were then kept front and center to ensure the needs and goals of Clackamas' users were at the forefront of decisions.
Enqbator developed a high-fidelity prototype to conduct usability testing. Testing with real students was completed to get additional feedback, confirm the designs were going in the right direction and meeting user needs, and identify potential improvements. After the analysis of usability testing feedback, updates were made, and the rest of the development took place.
Define: Enqbator distilled the information gathered from the discovery and ensured all the needs from the initial discussions were addressed. In addition, personas were created based on real user data collected from the discovery phase. These personas were then kept front and center to ensure the needs and goals of Clackamas' users were at the forefront of decisions.
Design: From there, the Enqbator design team developed wireframes for the home page, program pages, and program landing/search page - all based on the findings from the user research. After revising the wireframes, data-driven final designs were created which went through extensive review from the Clackamas project and marketing teams and their WAG (Web Accessibility Group) before approval.
Develop: In addition to the front-end designs, Enqbator developed a high-fidelity prototype to conduct usability testing. Testing with students was completed to get additional feedback, confirm the designs were going in the right direction and meeting user needs, and identify any potential improvements. After the analysis of usability testing feedback, updates were made, and the rest of the development took place.
Deploy: After development, thorough testing was performed by the Enqbator team and then reviewed and approved by the Clackamas team. Finally, the Enqbator team worked collaboratively with the Clackamas team to ensure a smooth and painless launch for the refreshed site.
1
Guided Pathways
The redesign aimed to support the guided pathways initiative to streamline the student experience and help students achieve their educational and career goals more efficiently and effectively. by creating clear, structured paths for students, clear choices, and enhanced support.
2
Degree Search & Filter
New and improved degree search with extensive and easy to use filtering options to allow students to browse and search degrees faster and easier.
3
Custom Modules
Custom content modules developed to easily display content like Degrees, Focus Areas, and Resources across pages- all while making the backend degree content easy to manage and update.
4
Data Embeds
Embedded data from platforms like Lightcast, 25LiveEvents, and Rave Mobile Safety for data around job outlook and career information, events, announcement and alert banners.
The Result
The positive feedback from students and staff at Clackamas was immediate and proved the updates were effective. The work performed by both the Clackamas and Enqbator teams resulted in the following enhancements:
- Degree Search: New and improved degree search with extensive and easy to use filtering options to allow users to browse and search degrees faster and easier.
- Content Optimization: The content for all degree pages was reviewed, edited or rewritten to optimize engagement and include keywords for SEO.
- Consistent Layouts: Clean and easy to manage templates for the degree pages to ensure consistency on all 97+ degree pages.
- Clean and Modern Design: A redesigned Home Page, Program Landing/Search Page and 97+ Program Pages. The whole site also obtained a refreshed look with a new template for the main and sub navigation, header and footer. Along with this came several widgets with refreshed styles to match the new design.
- Streamlined Student Pathways: Created guided pathways by making important degree information more prominent and bringing the Educational Focus Areas to key areas throughout the site to help students find their focus areas and explore, choose, plan, and complete their current programs or successfully transfer.
- Custom Modules/Content Types: New widgets and modules developed to display all the degree information on the degree pages as well as the search page - all while making the backend degree content easy to manage and update.
- Language Translations: Integration with GTranslate provides visitors with language options for translating the site to English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Russian, and Ukranian.
"Our experience with Enqbator so far has been nothing short of exemplary. Their team has gone above and beyond to ensure our website is not only visually appealing but also easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and ADA compliant."
This project was brought to life using technologies designed to deliver optimal performance and user experience while adhering to specific requirements.
Sitefinity Digital Experience Platform
Powerful marketing-based content platform.
Online Course Catalog Integration
Integrations with Courseleaf for degree classes and requirements from the college catalog on each of the degree pages.
Translation Services
Gtranslate integration for translation functionality (English + 6 additional languages).
UX/UI Research and Design
Complete and detailed research to create the most effective, user-focused design.
Testimonials
What clients are saying.
"I have enjoyed working in partnership with Enqbator. They have a very knowledgeable staff and consistently deliver top-notch service and professional web-based applications."
"We so enjoy working with the team at Enqbator on website development and other digital projects. Sujal has built a responsive, flexible, and creative group that works seamlessly as an extension of our team. We recommend Enqbator with enthusiasm and without reservation!"
"...We are so grateful for our partnership with the Enqbator team! They delivered an exceptional website experience survey and online Dashboard..."
"...The process was painless. Everyone loves the directory, and the journey to get there was so well organized that it barely impacted our workload..."
"I've worked with Enqbator since 2018. They've helped organize, create, and update our half a dozen websites, including our Intranet. They are professional, organized, and talented. They are easy to work with, respond quickly to our needs, and are willing to go the extra mile to succeed. I would recommend any organization to call Enqbator."
"As a strategist and consultant, I've worked with many vendors over the years. Enqbator is simply the best. From account management to the brilliant work by the owner, Sujal, they provide beyond 5-star web and marketing services. Innovative and forward thinking, they are ready and most willing to partner with us to implement new initiatives. Our work has won numerous national and state awards, so I'm so happy to partner with them on any projects. I highly recommend Enqbator and their experts who provide a range of services."
"I have worked with Enqbator for the past two years and their expertise is paramount for our web projects. They work very well within a collaborative environment and we look forward to continuing our partnership!"
"Enqbator was awarded a contract on a project that was behind schedule at the time. Enqbator exceeded my expectations. They were effective in communicating clearly to multiple stakeholders and they weren't afraid to operate outside of their box to help the overall project be successful."
"Enqbator was always very flexible and very quick to be able to make changes, based on the fluidity of what we were trying to do."
"From Day 1, The Enqbator team seamlessly integrated themselves as an extension of our team. They proactively solve issues, they take the time to understand our long-term plans and their expertise is beyond debate."
"We have had two corporate members renew based on this digital solution, which is great considering we just launched it today! Thank you! You have made this part of my job 1000% easier!"
"Not only does it come with a modern look, but new functionality that makes navigating the website much easier."
"Now, when medical directors are going to an office they no longer have to worry about bringing documents, they just log in. It has helped physicians immensely to view all of their reports directly from a mobile app instead of relying on an outdated system."
"Enqbator developed a visually appealing interactive website tailored to our needs. Our digital footprint has been greatly enhanced to benefit families and physicians, and we are delighted with their meticulousness and customer engagement."
"Our experience with Enqbator so far has been nothing short of exemplary. Their team has gone above and beyond to ensure our website is not only visually appealing but also easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and ADA compliant."
"...Enqbator has been a great partner, they are always eager to tackle new projects and approach them with technical expertise..."
"...Enqbator is flexible and fast paced. Without a partner who worked in a similar manner, we wouldn't have been able to complete our project as quickly as we did..."
""You helped complete an important project for the organization. The Find a Location and Find a Doctor apps will help thousands of people immediately. Your team is great to work with. See you in our next meeting for another great adventure.
"...The Enqbator team is always knowledgeable, helpful, and available during all aspects of the project..."
"...Their expertise in partnering with our organization has led to innovative and best-in-class solutions to meet UAMS' business..."
"Their attention to detail and ability to quickly ascertain our needs was second to none!... Many thanks to the Enqbator team!"
"..They are always cheerful, positive, open, organized, supportive, and responsive..."
"You were fantastic to do what you did!"
"I've known the Enqbator team for nearly a decade now and I can't say enough good things about the work they have done to help us build our company websites."
"Great experience with Enqbator. Work with them on many web projects and nothing but exceptional service."
"Very conscientious and focused on the project. Always available to help assist with troubleshooting."
"We experienced outstanding commitment from the Enqbator team throughout multiple complex IT projects. They have gone above and beyond in order to identify and troubleshoot issues from project initiation all the way into post-production."
"I highly recommend Enqbator for developing first-class technical solutions. Their vast experience and sincere desire to meet and exceed the needs of the customer is most impressive and evident. They have always been very courteous and responsive."
"Enqbator is a top notch web development partner. They have a "can-do" attitude and excel at finding solutions to some of the most technical challenges. Their expertise of Sitefinity CMS and their excellent customer service make them a pleasure to work with."
"We are working with Enqbator on several projects. They have a very professional and skilled staff. I would highly recommend."
"The Enqbator team has been a joy to work with on our web and mobile app projects. I would highly recommend their services and team. We look forward to continuing and growing our partnership."
"I highly recommend Enqbator for any institution looking to revamp their website with an inclusive, innovative, and responsive approach."
"Enqbator demonstrates not only technical expertise but also a dedication to making sure the project reflects our community's needs."
"From start to finish, Enqbator has consistently exceeded all expectations."
"From the beginning, our project lead sought to understand our needs and our science so that Enqbator could build the best product possible."
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