New program serves as information hub for CCU family members
By Megan Foster, Student Writer
Coastal Carolina University has partnered with a new service that allows families to receive updates and information about CCU, from tips to adjusting to life without your student to events on campus and more.
The Family Experience Portal, a website run by CampusESP, launched this past June at CCU. CampusESP is a platform that gives families college specific news and information, with the goal of increasing family engagement.
Participants create a profile and choose which campus communities they want to receive information from and how often they would like to receive it. There is a calendar with important dates, CCU resources and a support section offered on the site in addition to the dashboard of CCU information. Not every office on campus has a specific community on the program, but they can still send information through the site.
Some of the communities that generate posts on the site are:
• Coastal News
• Parent & Family News
• Financial Aid & Scholarships
• News from the Family Council
• Student Support
The portal is available as a free application that can be downloaded to mobile devices, and it includes a digital newsletter with curated, personalized content.
Susannah Marshman, director for new student and family programs, discovered CampusESP while attending a conference, and the site really stuck with her. “I knew we needed something to amp up our communication with family members, and this seemed like a good fit for what we needed as well as what our family members need,” she said.
The Office of New Student and Family Programs often receives requests directly from parents who want a program specifically for family information, specifically university updates that are not just emails or social media posts. Barbara McGuinness, mother of a CCU senior said, “I really enjoy getting as much CCU news as I can. The Family Experience Portal has allowed me to stay up to date with what’s going on around campus without relying on my student to get the information for me.”
The Family Experience Portal creates a centralized place to easily access information. Participants can comment on posts and ask questions that will be answered directly by the specific department they are trying to reach. There are also options available to sign up for text messages and email alerts within the Family Experience Portal.
For more information about CampusESP or the Family Experience Portal, contact Susannah Marshman at 843-349-2027. To sign up for the Family Experience Portal, visit https://coastal.campusesp.com/users/sign_in.