University of South Carolina Upstate
The C2 Group stepped in to save University of South Carolina Upstate during an active website redesign and CMS replatform when its incumbent implementation partner fell out of favor
The Challenge
Located in Spartansburg, S.C., the University of South Carolina Upstate’s mission is to prepare students to participate as responsible citizens in a diverse, global, knowledge-based society while pursuing excellence in their careers and learning throughout their lives.
USC Upstate relies on its digital properties to promote its brand, educational programs and offerings, and attract prospective students. Formerly on Ektron, USC Upstate selected Episerver as its new CMS solution, requiring a partner with deep experience on both platforms for a smooth CMS transition. When the university’s former implementation partner attempted to deviate and implement a competing solution with which it had stronger development and support experience, USC Upstate made the decision to make a partner change.
With the national rate of enrollment on a steady decline and the increased competition for quality students, USC Upstate needed its CMS transition and redesign to reflect the institution as a valuable investment to both external and internal stakeholders. There was high priority for a redesign and CMS implementation to serve all users through a mobile-responsive display that greets current and prospective students by highlighting USC Upstate’s lively campus and wide-range of academic programs.
In just 108 days, they unveiled a mobile-responsive platform that not only showcases the vibrant campus and diverse academic programs but also optimizes user experience, driving individualized content for prospective students.
In just 108 days, they unveiled a mobile-responsive platform that not only showcases the vibrant campus and diverse academic programs but also optimizes user experience, driving individualized content for prospective students.
In just 108 days, they unveiled a mobile-responsive platform that not only showcases the vibrant campus and diverse academic programs but also optimizes user experience, driving individualized content for prospective students.
Solution
Known as the leading higher education partner for Episerver implementations in the U.S., C2 stepped in to resume USC Upstate’s redesign and transition from Ektron to Episerver. The Discovery session involved reviewing and optimizing early design deliverables, including a new homepage design concept that better served the USC Upstate brand. Leveraging C2’s Web Accelerator for higher education, pre-developed interior page templates were then restyled to support the look and feel from the homepage. This approach cut development scope by roughly a third while rapidly increasing speed to market.
The Episerver platform more easily and efficiently allows the USC Upstate team to create, manage, and publish web content. With the new implementation, easy previewing, testing, and personalizing of site content are now concerns of the past. By collecting prospective student site behavior, USC Upstate can provide relevant and contextual experiences specific to individual student journeys. Despite the vendor change, the solution was delivered on schedule (in 108 days) without an increase to budget.
