November 23, 2021

Getting Involved on Campus: What Student Organizations Should You Join?

November 23, 2021/ Stephanie Chandra

When Isabella arrived on campus, she was excited to meet new people and discover more about herself and her new home. She knew that academics would take up a lot of her time but she didn’t want to miss out on campus life outside of the classroom.

She’d seen the movies. Wild parties and red Solo cups. That wasn’t the overall college experience she was after, though. Her eyes were on the prize: getting into a top graduate school. Even with her scholarship, Isabella understood the price tag of her education, and she had no intention of wasting the experience.

To get started on the right foot, Isabella decided to meet with her campus director of student life & activities. There, she received advice that could and would change her entire trajectory, helping to shape her campus experience and illuminate a pathway to reach her goals.

One key piece of advice Isabella received was that many enriching opportunities were available and happening all around her!

November 16, 2021

Campus Spotlight: Successful Platform Adoption at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

November 16, 2021/ Lucie-Kay Desthuis-Francis

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) has been a CampusGroups (CG) partner since June 2020. It implemented the campus engagement software during the global Covid-19 pandemic when Saudi Arabia was in full lockdown.

KAUST was founded in 2009. It is located on the Red Sea in the small fishing village of Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The unique Saudi campus is home to the kingdom’s first mixed-gender university campus, and hosts approximately 1,000 students and over 90 nationalities.

Prior to implementing CampusGroups, KAUST had a legacy student life community platform that had been abandoned by administrators and staff.

KAUST wanted a one-stop-shop for student life. They wanted a customizable and engaging system, available on the web and mobile. CG provided KAUST with the solutions to its challenges in one place.

November 09, 2021

Supporting Student Veterans in Higher Education

November 09, 2021/ Stephanie Chandra

Many college educators and student affairs administrators are taking a critical look at how they serve and support different populations such as student veterans and servicemembers. Throughout the entire student lifecycle, implementing strategies that support academic success, career planning, health & wellness, financial and social needs, are easing veterans’ adjustment to college, and helping them to thrive.

Student veterans, in many ways, set foot on campus already way ahead of the game. Many will bring unique strengths and experiences, a wealth of knowledge and expertise, leadership skills, focus and self-discipline to teamwork and group projects. They are able to enrich classroom discussions and enhance campus diversity overall.

November 02, 2021

How To Increase Connectivity with a Multi-Hub Campus Portal: Johns Hopkins University Campus Spotlight

November 02, 2021/ Lucie-Kay Desthuis-Francis

In July 2020, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) America's first research university launched CampusGroups at its Homewood and Peabody campuses. Homewood is the university’s main campus and home to two major undergraduate schools.

A year after, it rolled out the community platform university wide. Spread over nine campuses and three continents, JHU has over 30,000 students, including over 20,000 graduate students.

Due to the university’s structure, JHU implemented the CampusGroups Portal feature (“Hopkins Groups”) with multiple Community Hubs. One for each campus.

This has enabled each campus to have a custom landing page and menu, creating a personalized experience for students and administrators.

According to Calvin Smith, JHU’s Director of Student Leadership and Involvement, this rollout increased connectivity across JHU campuses. The biggest windfalls reportedly are:

Increased student engagement.
A better user experience.
More granular involvement stats.

October 12, 2021

How to Increase Adoption of Your Campus Mobile App?

October 12, 2021/ Lucie-Kay Desthuis-Francis

Mobile apps increasingly drive how students gather information, learn, work, and socialize. It is therefore critical for colleges to have a dedicated campus app as an engagement tool.

The aim is to have a mobile app that is the go-to resource for students. Having a well-designed app is only half the battle. It is also important to implement a mobile app adoption and engagement strategy, targeting new and existing students.

As the providers of a campus community platform, serving 70% of the top universities in the United States, we have put together some tips for increasing campus app adoption.

October 05, 2021

Lead On! Enriching Leadership Development Activities for College Students

October 05, 2021/ Stephanie Chandra

One of the most critical steps to preparing college students for a successful future is helping them develop their leadership skills. Through meaningful experiences integrated throughout curricular and co-curricular activities, students are empowered to build their leadership portfolio and distinguish themselves from the pack (or from a stack of applications).

Taking on a leadership role on campus is a fantastic opportunity to build real-world, resume-building skills. Fortunately, there is no shortage of opportunities to lead in a campus community, from participating in student government, getting involved in a club or sports team, volunteering, pursuing a passion project, serving as a student ambassador to incoming students and beyond.

September 28, 2021

Student Organizations: How to Attract and Retain Members

September 28, 2021/ Lucie-Kay Desthuis-Francis

Student organization leaders know the importance of attracting and keeping members. However, they do not always know how to do this or what tools could help them.

Outlined here are ways for student organizations to strengthen recruitment and retention efforts. Drawn from the experience of CampusGroups’ amazing partners, these best practices are key to sustaining a vibrant and healthy organization.

September 21, 2021

Campus Spotlight: Engaging and Empowering College Student Leaders at Binghamton University

September 21, 2021/ Stephanie Chandra

One lesson many of us have learned along our educational journey is that it takes more to stand out than just good grades. In the same way, the college experience should be about far more than what you learn in a book or classroom.

Taking on a leadership role during college is a fantastic opportunity for a student to explore ways to demonstrate their commitment to something they care about, while simultaneously building real-world, transferable skills.