Explore dozens case studies from a wide variety of institutions showcasing how WordPress is being used in higher ed: from course catalogs to permission systems, event management to LMS, commerce to academic publications, directories to food management, digital signage to internationalization. Interspersed are the results from a 486 respondent higher ed survey conducted in May 2016. Case Studies come from interviews with MIT, Stanford, Boise State, Columbia, Boston University, Harvard, University of Washington, Conroe School District and many, many more.

1. Shane Pearlman / @justlikeair / shane@tri.be
Higher
Education
WordPress
Showcase

2. Table of Contents
Who We Are ………………………………… 3
The Showcase ……………………………… 5
Web Properties ………………..………….. 10
Media Properties ………………………….. 33
Community Properties ……………………. 55
Course Properties………………………….. 70
Commerce Properties …………………….. 81
Specialty Properties ……………………….. 90
Conclusion …………………………………..104

3. tri.be
We bring professional versatility
UX / UI + DESIGN
We design and build enterprise
PLATFORMS
We bridge people and technology
STRATEGY
We solve genuine problems
R&D + PROTOTYPING

4. Our Clients

5. The Showcase
G L A D Y O U A R E H E R E . T H E B E E R I S O N M E ( R E A L L Y R E A L L Y ) .
The Approach

6. Stir The Imagination
Y O U A R E S U R R O U N D E D B Y O P P O R T U N I T I E S .
The Approach

7. Seeing Is Believing
T H E E A S I E S T W A Y T O G E T B U Y I N
I S W I T H A C R E D I B L E C A S E S T U D Y ( A N D B R I B E S ) .
My Approach

8. My Sources
My Approach
W P C A M P U S S U R V E Y , P E E R S B R A G G I N G ,
T R I B E P R O J E C T S & G O O G L E J I T S U

9. Bro, Do You Even Gif?
W I T H T H O U S A N D S O F E D U S T O C H O O S E F R O M , I D I D M Y B E S T .
I ’ M S O D E E P L Y S O R R Y I F I M I S S E D Y O U R S .
P L E A S E S E N D M E A L I N K @ J U S T L I K E A I R
My Approach

10. Web Properties
F R O M Y O U R P R I M A R Y . E D U T O S I M P L E S I T E S F O R M E A N D Y O U
WordPress Showcase

11. Web Properties: Survey
A Tsunami Of Change
7 7 . 2 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S J U S T L A U N C H E D A N E W S I T E
O R A R E I N P R O G R E S S O N A R E D E S I G N

12. Web Properties: Survey
Wave The Flagship
4 0 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
O N T H E I R P R I M A R Y D O M A I N ,

13. University
of Maine
Primary Domain

14. Lafayette
College
Primary Domain

15. UCF
Medical
School
Primary Domain

16. UC Berkeley
Law School
Primary Domain

17. Walla Walla
Community
College
Primary Domain

18. Institute of
American
Indian
Arts
Primary Domain

19. Web Properties: Survey
Secondary Properties
5 4 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
F O R D E P A R T M E N T S , S C H O O L S & O R G A N I Z A T I O N S .

20. Temple
University
Japan
Campus
29% of
Respondents
Support Multiple
Languages.

21. VCU Arts
Department

22. USC
Housing
Office

23. Boston
University IT
Office

24. New College
Writing
Program

25. UNC CES
Centers

26. Princeton
University
Physical Spaces

27. Sacramento
State
Student Association

28. Web Properties: Survey
Be Nimble & Be Quick
# 1 R E P O R T E D U S E O F W O R D P R E S S I S F O R
M I C R O / S P E C I A L T Y S I T E S ( 5 8 % ) .

29. Stanford
125
Micro Sites & Special Events

30. Web Properties: Survey
Holy Terabytes Batman!
N E A R L Y A T H I R D O F R E S P O N D E N T S R U N S I T E
W H I C H R E Q U I R E T H O U G H T F U L S C A L I N G .

31. Lots of Sites
32.5
PERCENT
-100SITES
7.2
PERCENT
-1,000SITES
1.5
PERCENT
-10,000SITES

32. Lots of Visitors
30.9
PERCENT
-100k+
UNIQUES
15.5
PERCENT
-1m+
UNIQUES
5.1
PERCENT
-10m+
UNIQUES

33. Media Properties
F R O M Y O U R S E M I N A L P U B L I C A T I O N S T O Y O U R B A B Y B L O G S .
WordPress Showcase

34. Media Properties: Survey
An Ob(li)vious Match
O N L Y 1 8 % R E P O R T E D U S I N G W O R D P R E S S
F O R A C A D E M I C P U B L I C A T I O N A N D M A G A Z I N E S ? ! ?

35. Columbia
Law Review
Academic Publication

36. MIT SMR
Long Form Reports

37. San Jose
State
Alumni Magazine

38. Harvard
Today
Trade Magazine

39. WashU
Fuse
Topical Curations

40. Hot Off The Press
4 6 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S P O W E R T H E I R
P R I M A R Y N E W S S I T E O N W O R D P R E S S
Media Properties: Survey

41. University of
St. Thomas
News

42. The 800 Blog Gorilla
3 8 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S H O S T 5 0 0 + S T U D E N T
A N D S T A F F B L O G S & P O R T F O L I O S I T E S .
Media Properties: Survey

43. NYU
Blog Network

44. University
of Mary
Washington
Blog Network

45. Virginia
Commonwealth
Blog Network

46. University of
Illinois
Staff / Office Blog

47. ePortfolios
Virginia
Commonwealth

48. ePortfolio Network
CUNY:
Macaulay

49. Conroe ISD
The Network: 63 Schools

50. Many Ways To Rule Them All
Media Properties: Survey
36
PERCENT
-
SINGLE MULTISITE
INSTANCE
25
PERCENT
-
SINGLE SITES MANAGED
INDEPENDENTLY
21
PERCENT
-
SINGLE SITES USING
CENTRALIZED
DEPLOYMENT

51. Boston
University
Newsletter

52. University of
North
Florida
Knowledge Base / Wiki

53. St. Olaf
College
Streaming

54. Conroe ISD
Galleries

55. Community Properties
B R I N G I N G P E O P L E T O G E T H E R , O N E B Y T E A T A T I N E .
WordPress Showcase

56. 62% Use WordPress 3+ Years
“ T H E S E C R E T O F S T A Y I N G Y O U N G I S T O L I V E H O N E S T L Y ,
E A T S L O W L Y , A N D L I E A B O U T Y O U R A G E . ”
- L U C I L L E B A L L
Community Properties: Survey

57. Michigan
Tech
Social Networks: Families

58. Modern
Language
Association
Commons

59. Sheridan
College
Forums

60. Web Properties: Survey
Your Governance
I N T E R N A L L Y , I T M A N A G E S 4 5 % O F P R O J E C T S ,
3 1 % B Y M A R K E T I N G A N D 2 4 % B Y D E P A R T M E N T
T E A M S .
2 8 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S H A V E U S E D A N A G E N C Y
O R F R E E L A N C E R .

61. University of
Birmingham
Recruiting & Mentorship

62. Stanford
Law School
Directory

63. Confluence Of Time & Space
2 6 % P O W E R E D T H E I R P R I M A R Y C A L E N D A R O N W O R D P R E S S .
5 3 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S C H O S E A W O R D P R E S S C A L E N D A R P L U G I N .
Community Properties: Survey

64. Calendars
52% of Respondents using
a WordPress Calendar
plugin use
THE EVENTS CALENDAR
#tellyourboss

65. University of
Michigan &
Florida
Internat-
ional
Calendars

66. The Best
Conference
Ever
Conferences

67. Need Moaaaar
6 % O F H R D E P A R T M E N T S A R E U S I N G
W O R D P R E S S T O R U N J O B L I S T I N G S .
1 1 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S M A N A G E T H E I R
I N T R A N E T U S I N G W O R D P R E S S .
Community Properties: Survey

68. University
of Mary
Washington
Job Board

69. Stanford
Law
Intranet

70. Course Properties
I T S A L L F U N A N D G A M E S U N T I L S O M E O N E D I V I D E S B Y 0 .
WordPress Showcase

71. Course Properties: Survey
WordPress 401
1 0 % P O W E R O R D I S P L A Y T H E I R
A C A D E M I C C A T A L O G O N W O R D P R E S S

72. Dawson
College
Course Catalog

73. Stanford
Law
Course Catalog

74. American
Field
Service
Abroad Programs

75. Course Properties: Survey
Better, Stronger, Faster.
5 0 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S H AV E A D D E D C U S T O M F U N C T I O N A L I T Y T H R O U G H A
T H E M E , P L U G I N O R U S I N G T H E R E S T A P I

76. Curtin
University
Registration / CRM

77. Bueller!?!
1 3 % R E P L I E D T H A T W O R D P R E S S I S B E I N G U S E D A S A N L M S .
2 5 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S C H O S E A W O R D P R E S S L M S P L U G I N .
Course Properties: Survey

78. University of
Michigan
LMS & MOOCs

79. Stanford
Engineering
Recorded Classes

80. Long
Beach
State
Course Materials

81. T H E B E S T T H I N G S I N L I F E A R E F R E E * P L U S S H I P P I N G A N D H A N D L I N G *
WordPress Showcase
Commerce Properties

82. Commerce Properties: Survey
Show Me The Money!
3 7 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S R U N E C O M M E R C E
T R A N S A C T I O N T H R O U G H T H E I R W O R D P R E S S S I T E S .

83. I Couldn’t
Find
Them
All…
Selling Goods

84. Commerce Properties: Survey
Pay You Tuesday For An Article Today
2 2 % O F E C O M M E R C E T R A N S A C T I O N W E R E F O R
P U B L I C A T I O N S A N D C O P Y R I G H T U S A G E .

85. Paywalls
MIT Sloan
Management
Review

86. Commerce Properties: Survey
An Even Field
W O O C O M M E R C E , G R A V I T Y F O R M S A N D P A Y P A L W E R E T H E C L E A R
W I N N E R S , B U T M A N Y P L A T F O R M S H A D N O T A B L E A D O P T I O N .

87. Boise State
Fundraising

88. Commerce Properties: Survey
A Ticket For Your Thoughts
6 5 % O F E C O M M E R C E T R A N S A C T I O N W E R E F O R E V E N T S .

89. Des Moines U.
Event Tickets
U. of Western
States

90. F R O M W R I S T T O P S T O K O S H E R C H I C K E N S
WordPress Showcase
Outside The Envelope

91. A Sign Of The Times
5 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
T O M A N A G E D I G I T A L S I G N A G E .
Specialty Properties: Survey

92. Source
Digital Signage

93. Beam Me Up
5 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E D T H E W O R D P R E S S
R E S T A P I T O P O W E R A M O B I L E A P P L I C A T I O N .
Specialty Properties: Survey

94. Boston
University
Mobile Apps

95. Macmillan
Connect
Apps Distribution

96. Feed Me See-More
2 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
T O M A N A G E F O O D S E R V I C E .
Specialty Properties: Survey

97. Case
Western
Food Service

98. Second Star To The Right
9 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
F O R C A M P U S M A P S A N D V I R T U A L T O U R S .
Specialty Properties: Survey

99. University of
Washington
Interactive Maps

100. Open The Bay Doors
9 % O F R E S P O N D E N T S U S E W O R D P R E S S
F O R A L E R T S & E M E R G E N C Y M A N A G E M E N T .
Specialty Properties: Survey

101. Harvard
University
Alert Systems

102. Lego My Theme
L A Y O U T M A N A G E R S H A V E G A I N E D S I G N I F I C A N T T R A C T I O N ,
5 7 % R E P O R T I N G U S I N G A B U I L D E R O N A T L E A S T O N E S I T E .
Specialty Properties: Survey

103. Harvard Law
Layout Managers

104. Web Properties: Survey
Wapuu, I Choose You
82
PERCENT
-
EASE OF USE
#1
71
PERCENT
-
EXTENSIBILITY
&
FLEXIBILITY
#2
69
PERCENT
-
OPEN SOURCE
#3
55
PERCENT
-
DEVELOPMENT
SPEED
#4
43
PERCENT
-
COST
#5

105. Use This For Good
I’ve been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at
last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was
but the learner; now I am the master.
WordPress Showcase

106. T R I . B E
S L I D E S : H T T P : / / M . T R I . B E / W P S H O W C A S E
S U R V E Y D A T A : H T T P : / / B I T . L Y / W P C A M P U S S T U D Y