Case Study: Columbia University achieves campus-wide improvements and increased student engagement with IdeaScale

Columbia University Improving the Student Experience

Columbia University launched a crowdsourcing initiative in early 2013 to capture student and staff input on improving campus life and to cut through layers of committee bureaucracy. Using IdeaScale, the CCSC Communications Committee created a closed community called “What To Fix Columbia,” promoted on campus and managed by an eight-person team to surface prioritized, actionable ideas from the university community.

The platform produced more than 200 ideas and led to tangible changes—shorter gate hours, a mailbox notification system, a redesigned walkway, a policy change allowing non‑alumni commencement speakers, and the opening (and Wi‑Fi upgrade) of a dining hall as late‑night study space. The site also reduced reliance on traditional focus groups, expanded to additional undergraduate schools, remains active through word of mouth, and serves as an ongoing information hub for students.

Columbia University

Jared Odessky

VP Communications