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Home › Success Stories › University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire
Success Story

Community Portal Strengthens Community Engagement and Efficiency

After using the same student life community platform for almost a decade, the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire (UWEC) upgraded to the CampusGroups portal in 2022. They were tired of a technology system that was slow to respond, crashed often, and didn’t facilitate two-way communication in real time
Type Of Institution:
Public University
Student Numbers:
11,000+
Location:
Eau Claire, WI, USA
Client Since:
2022

About UWEC

Founded in 1916 as a teacher’s college, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UWEC) has grown into a leading public university recognized for academic excellence, research, and community engagement. Today, UW–Eau Claire is part of the University of Wisconsin System, which includes 13 public universities across the state, and continues to prepare students to lead and contribute in a rapidly changing world.

Outcomes

Since implementing CampusGroups, UWEC has strengthened student engagement while improving the user experience and operational efficiency for both students and administrators. These gains are reflected in the platform’s strong adoption and usage during its first year:
Platform Users
0
12,858 users, including 1,467 group officers
Event Registrations
0
1,315 events created, triggering 15,550 event registrations.
Attendances Tracked
0
479 events used attendance tracking, resulting in 13,550 event check-ins.

Challenges

Prior to implementing CampusGroups (CG) in 2022, UWEC had the same student life community platform for almost a decade. However, the legacy platform was limited in functionality and slow. The main challenges with the previous system were:

  • Limited community engagement features – The legacy platform was event-centric. It lacked features that are key to a community engagement platform, including a campus wide feed, chat, or social directory. Mobile functionality was also extremely limited, resulting in low platform adoption.
  • Lack of automation – The legacy system was very manual and lacked analytics and reporting capabilities. Student organization registration and event tracking were particularly challenging. There wasn’t an easy or reliable process which meant these processes were still done manually.
  • Poor performance – There was reportedly a lot of lag time with the previous platform. Administrators often couldn’t physically get their work done, let alone do it efficiently. The platform’s poor performance further contributed to a lack of adoption among students.
Outdoor class

Solutions

Empowering Engagement: UWEC’s Success with the CG Platform

UWEC needed a unified and user-friendly community engagement portal. According to Sara E. Thommesen, UWEC’s Senior Coordinator of Engagement, “The CG platform is so complete and easy to use for students and staff, that we are continually transitioning processes to CG ”. Key benefits include:

  1. Unified Campus Portal – The implementation of the (“BluGold Connect +”) portal established a comprehensive platform university-wide. It serves as the go-to resource on campus, connecting students to the information they need and each other.
  2. Multiple Engagement Tools –  Available on the web and mobile, the platform has over 30 modules. The student groups and membership feature, events management tools, and chat are the most-used modules. The dedicated Orientation app is also key, enhancing the student experience for first-year students and increasing adoption.
  3. Automated Workflows and Robust Tracking and Reporting Features – CG has automated key processes, with data feeding into an analytics and reporting dashboard in real time. The most popular workflows are tracks and checklists, event registration and check-in.
“Unified Portal for Campus Life”
“Having a central place for students and administrators to communicate and connect is great. We are looking to move everything to CG, including calendaring, room reservations, payments and budgeting.”
Sara Thommesen
Senior Coordinator of Engagement
“Engaging and Retaining First-Year Students”
“The mobile app has been a game changer, especially for first-year students who want everything at their fingertips. Orientation is where it all starts. Therefore, having a dedicated orientation app and welcome days hub for incoming students sets them up for success.”
Sara Thommesen
Senior Coordinator of Engagement
“Easy to Use and Reliable”
“I have heard only positive things from students and staff, about how the portal is more efficient. The chat feature has eliminated inefficient emailing with student groups. The QR code for event check-in and student club registration workflow have eliminated manual processes.”
Sara Thommesen
Senior Coordinator of Engagement

Conclusion

CampusGroups has become a central hub for student involvement at UWEC. By improving visibility into engagement and streamlining administrative workflows, the platform has enabled the university to foster stronger connections across campus. The results demonstrate how a unified engagement platform can drive participation, improve efficiency, and support a more connected student experience.