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Success Story

Building a Campus-wide Hub: How DeSales University Transformed Student Engagement with CampusGroups

DeSales University needed a modern student engagement solution to strengthen communication, expand involvement, and build a more connected campus experience. Since launching CampusGroups in 2024, the platform—called Bark internally—has become the central hub for student life. Today, Bark supports clubs, events, offices, orientation, communications, training, and engagement tracking. It delivers a mobile-first experience, meeting students where they are while equipping administrators with stronger tools to drive participation and success.
Type of Institution:
Private University
Client Since:
2024
Location:
Center Valley, Pennsylvania
Student Population:
~3,000 students

About DeSales University

DeSales University is a private Catholic university committed to developing the whole student through academic excellence, personal growth, and community engagement. With a strong emphasis on leadership, service, and student involvement, DeSales continually looks for new ways to strengthen the student experience.

Outcomes

Since implementing CampusGroups, DeSales has seen strong early results:
events posted annually
0
showing sustained campus-wide activity.
group pages launched
017
on Bark, including 74 student organizations and 44 academic/campus offices, up from 48 combined pages previously.
of first-year students
0 %
checked in to at least one orientation event, with the digital check-in feature contributing to record-high orientation attendance.

Challenges

Before CampusGroups, DeSales used an engagement platform with limited adoption and functionality. The university faced several key challenges:

  1. Low student usage and minimal engagement beyond event listings.
  2. Fragmented systems for forms, surveys, registrations, and ticketing.
  3. Limited tools for offices and organizations to build a digital community.
  4. No clear funding visibility for student organizations.
  5. Limited insight into participation and engagement trends.
  6. Outdated communication methods that did not match student preferences.
  7. Minimal administrative support from the previous vendor.

DeSales wanted a platform that could drive adoption, unify tools, and serve as a true campus engagement ecosystem.

Solutions

DeSales selected CampusGroups after evaluating multiple providers, prioritizing usability, breadth of functionality, and customer support. In 2024, the university launched the platform as a comprehensive campus engagement solution, branded internally as Bark. Today, Bark supports student engagement across campus through key use cases:

  • Central hub for campus life: CampusGroups serves as the digital home for student clubs, campus offices, and events, increasing visibility and centralizing discovery.
  • Mobile-first communication: Through the app, students access events, updates, resources, and check-ins from their phones, quickly becoming a campuswide standard.
  • Orientation and event hubs: Event Hub supports orientation with schedules, campus maps, mentor directories, and key resources, with future expansion being explored for commencement and major events.
  • Tracks, checklists, and student development: DeSales uses Tracks and Checklists for training, first-year mentoring, and orientation workflows, enabling students to complete milestones, earn points, and unlock leadership opportunities.
  • Gamification that drives participation: Leaderboards, badges, and points encourage healthy competition and sustained engagement among students and organizations.
  • Operational efficiency: CampusGroups replaced disconnected tools such as Google Forms and Eventbrite, consolidating forms, surveys, registrations, and sign-ups into one platform.
  • Platform adoption strategy: DeSales prioritized awareness and activation to ensure strong campuswide adoption.

Launch efforts included:

Launch efforts included:

  • Campus flyers and promotional emails.
  • Pop-up tables during involvement fairs.
  • Prize wheels and giveaways for app downloads.
  • Orientation forms housed directly in Bark.
  • In-person demos for the library, academic success center, and student life teams.
“We were paying a lot for a platform that mainly listed events.”
“Before CampusGroups, we were paying a lot for a platform that mainly listed events, and students rarely engaged with it.”
Liz Roberts-Brown, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Leadership
DeSales University
“Everyone knows what Bark is.”
“CampusGroups is a true all-in-one engagement platform that helps students stay informed, get involved, and connect across campus. Everyone knows what Bark is.”
Liz Roberts-Brown, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Leadership
DeSales University
“Having a dedicated customer success manager has been a significant improvement.”
“Having a dedicated customer success manager has been a significant improvement. They genuinely listen to our feedback and act on it to make improvements.”
Liz Roberts-Brown, Coordinator of Student Engagement and Leadership
DeSales University

Conclusion

DeSales University’s success with CampusGroups shows what happens when institutions move beyond static event calendars and invest in true student engagement infrastructure.

With Bark now central to campus life, DeSales has expanded participation, modernized communication, streamlined operations, and built stronger visibility into student involvement.

As adoption continues to grow, the university is well positioned to deepen belonging, improve retention, and create an even more connected student experience.