Content Management

Modern Campus Intros Low-Code Web Design Tool for Higher Ed

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 12/08/21

Education technology company Modern Campus has launched a low-code web design tool for higher education. Melody, as it's called, is intended to reduce the effort and time required for creating web pages, enabling ordinary users to develop them without programming knowledge or the help of IT.

The company has also updated its content management system (CMS) with more personalization functionality and introduced a set of services for institutions that want third-party web design support and design consultation.

"With Melody, web and content teams can spend their time where it belongs — on better strategy, better content, and ultimately a better student experience," said Reuben Pressman, chief product officer, in a press release. "Rather than coding templates and being 'stuck' with what they're given, customers can now use our industry-leading low-code toolset to craft layouts in minutes rather than days, re-use versus re-make and benefit from our higher education CMS community resources."

Modern Campus' Omni CMS has been updated to allow the import of data from external applications, such as a constituent relationship management or student information system, to set up targeted segments as part of personalizing the experience for the website visitor. For example, a college could show content it considers relevant for people in a given geolocation and with a particular high school GPA, by importing relevant data from Ellucian Recruit or Salesforce.

The company's new Design Studio will act as an agency for front-end web design work, providing support to customers who lack the internal resources for their websites, to handle, for instance, accessibility compliance or other web design updates.

"Our prospective students are seasoned consumers with high expectations of the institutions they're exploring, and the website is their first interaction with us and our brand," said Eric Hazen, web marketing manager at Ferris State University, in a statement. "The enhancements and expansions from Modern Campus enable us to deliver a digital experience and first impression that inspires students to engage more deeply. These tools help us go beyond simply telling students how much we care about their success, and instead allow us to show them how our programs, support services and outcomes align with their individual needs and goals."