Council on Undergraduate Research Website Refresh

Council on Undergraduate Research Website Refresh

Undergraduate research transforms curious students into innovative thinkers and future leaders in their fields. Undergraduate research is proven to profoundly enrich a student’s educational experience; foster skill development, academic achievement, and professional growth after graduation; and contribute valuable insights and innovations to their fields of study.

The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR)’s mission is to support and promote high-quality, mentored undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry, to enrich and advance society. Since its founding in 1980, CUR has grown to include 13 divisions spanning all disciplines, more than 143,000 individual members from emerging mentors to dedicated provosts, and more than 525 institutional members globally.

While the CUR team is small but mighty, their technology was anything but. Handcuffed by outdated technology, too many systems, and a fractured website, the CUR team was struggling to do what they do best: nimbly innovate and create. Instead, much of their time was spent wrestling with their old, but expensive, technology. To stay true to their mission and serve their members well, they knew something needed to change.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
WordPress

SERVICES
User Experience
Web Design
Development
Integration
Analytics Training
Search Engine Optimization

Awards
Davey Silver Award

The Challenge

CUR sought to find a technology solution as agile and powerful as they are. 

To realize their big dreams and meet their strategic goals, CUR needed deep functionality and a lot of flexibility. However, many of the popular solutions and offerings meant more systems, more development, and a big budget that they didn’t have. 

As living proof that bigger isn’t always better and being no strangers to mentored investigation and creative inquiry – it’s what they champion, after all! – CUR reached out to their friends at Matrix Group to ask the question: Is it possible to do more with less? What are our options?

The Solution

Over the course of 6 months, the CUR team worked with Matrix Group to explore how they could reduce complexity to increase capacity. CUR and Matrix Group worked together to consolidate systems and review digital offerings, with an eye to giving staff more capabilities while increasing member benefits. A clear solution emerged. We:

    • Moved the CUR website to the flexible, powerful, affordable WordPress CMS. Staff now have full control over the website, and can make changes quickly and easily to reflect new initiatives, programs, and offerings. 
    • Updated the homepage, refreshed several templates, and updated content on the website to provide a clearer and more streamlined experience for their members. 
    • Reinstated Google Analytics on their website and provided staff with in-depth training so they can now make informed decisions based on data they trust. 
    • Integrated the refreshed website with Impexium, CUR’s Association Management System, giving CUR staff more flexibility and members a more seamless experience. 
  • Eliminated unneeded systems, reduced CUR’s digital footprint (and spend!), and simplified processes. 
  • Launched a dedicated microsite for their scholarly journal adding more visibility to the

widespread knowledge shared by many members through published journal entries. This added to the ability to track data and insights to inform them of future member needs.

The Result

The CUR team now has more functionality, flexibility, and capacity to focus on what really matters: bringing in more revenue, better serving their members, and driving the organization and its mission forward. And all with fewer systems! 

Increased analytics is also helping to transform the organization. Armed with clear and accurate data, CUR has been able to make more informed decisions, which has elevated the organization in countless ways.

“CUR knew we needed an updated website, we just weren’t sure how we were going to accomplish all of our needs, wants, and aspirations for a new website in our budget. Matrix Group was able to not only deliver on our asks, but also made our staff self-sufficient to keep additional costs down in the future. Now with our new website, we are able to accomplish more of our goals and help our members navigate their needs.”

— Lindsay Currie, CAE Executive Officer, CUR