Higher Education Event App Case Studies

[faq] Q: What's the best event app for university orientation? A: The best orientation app handles three things at once: personalized schedules students can filter to their major or program, a way to push real-time updates without reprinting anything, and easy access to campus maps and resources. Guidebook is widely used in higher ed for this — Purdue welcomes [8,000+ students](https://www.guidebook.com/case-study/purdue-orientation-app-case-study) through their BGR orientation each year on the platform, with over 600,000 app sessions logged in a single week. The key feature to look for is non-technical editing: orientation plans change up to the last minute, and staff need to update content without IT involvement. Q: How do you increase yield at admitted students day? A: Yield improves when admitted students and their families walk in feeling prepared. A mobile event app makes that possible: personalized session tracks so a nursing major isn't reading about business school events, interactive campus maps, and pre-event access so attendees explore the day before they arrive. Indiana Tech [doubled their yield](https://www.guidebook.com/case-study/admitted-students-day-app-indiana-tech) from 40% to 82% after switching to an app for Admitted Students Day, while also saving the team 375 staff hours per event. Q: How do you reduce printing costs for student events? A: Move agendas, maps, FAQs, and resource guides into a single mobile app every student accesses on their phone. The University of Manchester [eliminated 40,000 printed Open Day programs](https://www.guidebook.com/case-study/university-open-day-app-manchester-case-study) by going fully digital, saving thousands annually. Beyond cost, you remove the headache of last-minute reprints — when a session moves or a speaker changes, the update pushes to every attendee's phone instantly. Q: What features should a college orientation app have? A: At minimum: a customizable schedule with multiple tracks so different majors see only what's relevant, a campus map with key buildings flagged, push notifications for session changes, and FAQs your team can update without IT. Beyond minimum: offline mode for crowded campus WiFi, a parent or guest version of the guide, and a "My Schedule" function so students can save and reorder sessions for their day. Q: Can you build a university event app without a developer? A: Yes — most modern higher-ed event apps use a drag-and-drop builder so admissions, orientation, or events staff can build and launch without engineering. Northeastern's events team [built their Boston Welcome Days app in-house](https://www.guidebook.com/case-study/northeastern-admitted-student-day-case-study) without code. The trade-off is integrations: if you need to pull data from your SIS or CRM, you'll either need a more developer-friendly platform or an integration partner. Q: How do you handle a multi-day welcome week with one app? A: Build one app, use track filters, and let students personalize their schedule by day. Sessions are tagged by day and by program so attendees filter to only what's relevant. Push notifications carry students between days — a Day 1 wrap-up at 5pm, a Day 2 kickoff reminder at 8am. The single-app approach also means students don't have to download separate things across orientation, welcome week, and admitted student events. Q: How do you communicate with parents during admitted student events? A: Build a separate track or guest-specific guide inside the same event app, password-protected if needed. Parents usually want different information than students: parking, financial aid sessions, ways to ask questions without going through their student. Northeastern reported that giving parents the same app significantly reduced inbox volume for the admissions team — parents who downloaded the app stopped emailing for last-minute logistics. Q: What's a realistic timeline to launch a university event app? A: Most teams go from kickoff to launch in 4–8 weeks for a first orientation or admitted students event, faster for subsequent events. The time isn't in the technology — modern platforms build in days. It's in content curation: deciding which sessions go on which track, writing FAQs, designing the brand wrap, training staff on push notifications. Teams that have run one event tend to launch the next one in days, not weeks. [/faq]