The
Client.
For over 60 years, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has been a prominent and vocal voice for the graduate education community and is the only national organization in the U.S. dedicated to the advancement of masters and doctoral education and research. They collaborate with corporate and nonprofit organizations to organize major events across the country to bring together graduates, deans, and other stakeholders to discuss topics affecting graduate education.
The Challenge.
CGS developed GradSense – a website that helps students plan for graduate school. Gradsense offers current and prospective graduate students financial planning information and tools about a range of topics such as the cost and value of pursuing an advanced degree.
The client had an existing website built in Drupal which was outdated and difficult for users to navigate. CGS felt that their site was in need of a complete redesign that featured major updates and improvements as well as adding new pages and tools. The client wanted to find a solution that would spread the message of their application across the internet.
The Solution.
Simpalm collaborated with the client to design and develop a complete overhaul of their website. The client wanted the site to be built with WordPress so that it can be apart of their WordPress multisite framework hosted via Pantheon.io. Simpalm was tasked to implement an updated, user-friendly website using a theme that aligns with other sites within CGS as well as developing new pages and tools and improving the navigation flow for users.
Tech Stack.
WordPress- Pantheon.io
Website Features.
GradSense is designed to prepare students for graduate school and see them through their
program. This website offers the following resources:
Learn about Graduate School.
Students can navigate through the site to see how graduate education can provide skills to help advance their career. GradSense provides studies, interactive calculators, and other important resources.
Hear from Real Students.
Students can navigate to the Gallery page to read about real and inspirational stories from recent and current graduate students.
Budget Calculator.
Students can use the GradSense budget calculator to help track their graduate school funding, cost of your program, general expenses to set budget goals, and compare admission offers.
By Degree Calculator.
Students can use the GradSense debt and salary calculator to get an estimate of what they can expect to owe and possible future salaries for occupations they search for.
Interactive Quiz.
GradSense allows students to go deeper with an interactive quiz that tests the comprehension of students navigating through the site. Test your understanding of graduate school topics and financial literacy with the Check Your Knowledge Quiz.
Glossary and Additional Resources.
Familiarize yourself with important terms and jargon used through GradSense’s Glossary of Terms. Users can also go deeper into their financial journey with a packed list of resources approved by GradSense.
