600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920-3099
www.eiu.edu

Challenge

Prior to adopting the acalog ACMS™ as delivery platform and management solution for its academic catalogs, EIU was publishing its catalogs as PDF files on the Internet. While recognizing that PDF documents can be a useful way to provide printed materials over the Internet, the university also acknowledged that its students and other campus communities wanted an online catalog with more flexibility — a truly searchable catalog that did not have to be downloaded to be viewed.

Catalog managers were pleasantly surprised to find that the acalog ACMS™ would not only provide the Internet experience they knew their constituent communities expected, but that the ACMS™ also includes a full-featured back end management system in which to build, organize, edit, and archive academic catalog content for both print and the Internet in a single location.

Solution

After winning in a comprehensive RFP bidding process mandated by the State of Illinois, Digital Architecture consultants were engaged to transition the PDF versions of EIU's undergraduate and graduate catalogs, a task which was accomplished in less than six weeks.

The new catalog "Gateway" provides exactly the advanced features students and others were looking for: advanced search; a portfolio to save favorite courses and programs for later reference or to share with family; a highly standardized and intuitive navigation; and a flexible interface that seamlessly integrates with the University website.

EIU went online with the acalog ACMS™ in June of 2004.