Earlier this month, the CampusGroups team met in Philadelphia to participate in the 2018 NASPA Annual Conference, a gathering of more than 7,000 Student Affairs educators featuring guest speakers, educational sessions, networking events, and much more.

CampusGroups visited NASPA for the first time in 2008, but in the decade since, our team has grown considerably — as has our platform and the community of universities on board.

Here's a look behind the scenes at an exciting weekend celebrating the incredible progress being made in higher education and student engagement.

The CampusGroups team spends most of the year spread out across offices in three different cities (New York, San Francisco, and Bordeaux) so it was a special occasion to be all together in Philadelphia for NASPA.

CampusGroups Founder and CEO, Yorick Ser, spoke with dozens of Student Affairs leaders about the challenges facing campuses today, and how to solve them together.

Claire does a little of everything for CampusGroups, and that was no different at NASPA. Here she enjoyed a moment of calm before the vendor hall opened.

Laura is an expert problem-solver for CampusGroups, whether she's fixing a line of code or making sure our NASPA booth is ready to go.

No conference is complete without a little branded swag. These blue suction-cup phone stands were our most popular item by far.

Olga and Brian focus on strategy and marketing for CampusGroups. NASPA gave them the perfect opportunity to meet educators and learn more about what they need from a technology partner.

Since CampusGroups contains so many features, we created a series of color-coded fliers to explain what's possible on the platform. For the short version of the message, our "I <3 CampusGroups" pins provided an excellent summary.

The team sported a set of new CampusGroups t-shirts highlighting our core values.

Once the conference was underway, the CampusGroups booth became a popular place to spend time. (It may have helped that the nearby Break Station was frequently restocked with cookies and pastries.)

Yorick and Brian have collaborated on efforts to document the best strategies from CampusGroups' most successful leaders, and at NASPA, they got to share those strategies with administrators and students from all over the world.

NASPA's vendor hall became a busy hub for conversations about student engagement. We were proud to be featured alongside so many outstanding companies working to improve higher education.

Sara Bayerl from RIT Student Affairs joined CampusGroups to lead a presentation on engagement strategies and the importance of collaboration between universities and technology companies.

Yorick answered questions from the audience and shared the story of how he created CampusGroups in 2005 as an MBA student and club leader at NYU Stern School of Business, where he saw an opportunity to use technology to improve processes and connect with his peers.

When he wasn't speaking to audiences or connecting with university leaders, Yorick took time to master the art of the selfie.

We're grateful to have met so many inspiring educators, campus leaders, and innovators working hard to enhance higher education.

Thank you, NASPA — see you next year!

Check out the full video of Sara and Yorick's presentation on student engagement technology at NASPA 2018.

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March 26, 2015

NASPA 2015: Helping Students to Navigate with Courage

March 26, 2015

Helping Students Develop Key Skills for Success

NASPA 2015 Conference shattered records by connecting over 7,800 attendees, including 3,000 first-timers. In a room full of thousands of people who have committed their lives to enhancing the lives of young men and women around the world, it is clear just how vital student affairs professionals are to the success and well-being of each and every student. This mentoring relationship begins by a simple consideration: "We all have stories to tell." Everyone has a voice, and they all deserve to be heard.

March 26, 2015

April 26, 2022

That's a Wrap! CampusGroups Rendez-Vous '22 Conference Was a Hit!

On Friday, April 8th, the CG team was beyond thrilled to host our 2nd annual virtual conference with our wonderful campus partners!

We were delighted to gather together and connect with so many creative and innovative campus leaders at CampusGroups Rendez-Vous ‘22! It was such a pleasure to see and hear from the incredible members of the CG community! 💙

Over 400 attendees from 12 countries and 141 campuses around the globe joined us for an exciting day of discussions, inspiration, discovery and new connections!

11 presenters from 8 institutions shared creative ways they have been adapting and innovating to keep their students connected and engaged.

November 2, 2021

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

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?

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.