COVID-19 has had a significant impact on higher education. Colleges and universities today face several challenges, from managing drastic budget cuts to shifting to all-digital classes and campus services. Now traditional brick-and-mortar schools must completely rethink their digital learning strategies to compete with online-only schools that are already equipped to function remotely.
As schools adapt to a new routine, administrators must look for ways to increase student retention while operating online or in hybrid learning-environments—which is where the modern campus portal comes into play. This article breaks down how higher education institutions can increase retention by empowering students to find what they’re looking for quickly and with ease.
Improving Retention with a Modern Campus Portal Solution
Students need access to user-friendly mobile technology; however, not all schools are on the same page when it comes to technological advancements and digital capabilities. Both brick-and-mortar institutions and online schools like Arizona State University have been building synchronous and asynchronous digital capabilities for years.
- Synchronous learning is online education that occurs in real-time
- Asynchronous learning happens on digital channels without real-time interaction
Other schools have been taken by surprise during the COVID-19 pandemic and are now working diligently to catch up. In either scenario, a modern campus portal solution like OneCampus can support schools that wish to operate both synchronously and asynchronously. OneCampus helps higher education institutions increase student retention by empowering students and staff to quickly find and access everything, from class schedules and grades to financial aid and athletics information, all in one location.
During the COVID-19 health crisis, campuses using OneCampus experienced a logarithmic increase in access and usage by students and faculty as the need to quickly access critical campus information, online classes, and related services remotely became the standard. As a trusted solution used by universities and campuses both large and small for decades, the platform was built to scale seamlessly with demand and continues to do so as usage rises during COVID.
Partnering with OneCampus to Engage and Retain Students
Modern campus portal solutions offer students an efficient, mobile-friendly alternative to accessing campus resources in person and across various systems. Upgrading to a modern campus portal such as OneCampus pulls all services and resources together in one readily accessible, user-friendly location.
OneCampus includes several valuable features, such as:
- Keyword searching for service discovery that functions like Google
- Custom branding that includes school logos, colors, and names
- Mass notifications for important updates and deadlines
- Powerful user data capture on the services used most (and least)
- Personalization capabilities for a customized student experience
- Easy implementation and maintenance with minimal IT support
- Optional integration with other campus solutions such as Blackboard and Canvas
Looking for effective ways to increase student retention and adapt to an online-only or hybrid learning environment? Request a free demo of OneCampus to see how it benefits schools, students, and staff members.