Case Study: Illinois Institute of Technology achieves record-breaking application growth with TargetX's mobile-first Online Application

Illinois Institute of Technology Achieves Record Breaking Application Year After Implementing the TargetX Mobile-first Application

Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) is a private, technology-focused research university in Chicago with about 7,800 students. Facing a legacy application that didn’t reflect its tech-savvy ethos, Illinois Tech needed a mobile-first, flexible, and easy-to-use application that could unify many graduate programs, let applicants save and jump between sections, and handle high volume without sacrificing the user experience.

Illinois Tech implemented the TargetX mobile-first Online Application built on Salesforce, giving applicants a clean, non-linear mobile experience with progress tracking and automated workflows. The platform handled large spikes (e.g., 25,000 applications for a summer research program), scaled across graduate programs and internal offices, and delivered record-breaking application numbers, improved staff efficiency, and more consistent communications—especially benefiting international students who apply via phone.

Illinois Institute of Technology

April Welch

Associate Vice President