Buyer's Guide
A Comprehensive Guide to Buying Clean Catalog Software
We provide customizable academic software designed to address the unique needs of each institution we work with. Our solutions include:
- Course Catalog Software
- Curriculum Management Software
- Syllabus Management Software
- Student Handbook Software
- Employee Handbook Software
WHO ARE WE A GOOD FIT FOR?
We pride ourselves on having software that’s flexible enough to meet a variety of needs, and colleges and universities of all sizes, non-profits, secondary education organizations, and more have all put our software to good work. The list below comprises most of our customer base:
- Community, technical, and career-training colleges
- Private liberal arts colleges
- HBCUs
- Primary/secondary school districts
- Nonprofits and government agencies that offer courses
- Large public universities
WHO ARE WE NOT A GOOD FIT FOR?
We want all of our partners to be successful, and in some of the cases below we might not be the best fit — but we’re always happy to talk it over.
- Colleges/universities looking for an all-in-one-box, full-campus solution for all their IT needs. We focus on offering the best catalog, curriculum, and syllabus software. If you’re looking for an all-in-one SIS, LMS, CRM, or any other fun three-letter software, that’s not us! But our system is very easy to integrate with through our easy-to-use API.
- Organizations looking to work with large legacy vendors. We’re a smaller company, and our customers love us. We have an extremely stable business model, a loyal customer base, and plans to be around a long time. That said, some organizations prefer to work with larger, legacy providers. No hard feelings, but that’s not us.
Pricing
One of our goals is to provide affordable, best-in-class software for colleges and universities of all sizes. We are almost always the most affordable option for catalog, curriculum, and syllabus management software — and clients who’ve switched from other providers tell us that they’re paying less for a better product.
We don’t do one-size-fits-all pricing, so we can’t give a full pricing table here. We can tell you that colleges with as few as 600 FTE students are able to afford our software, and that we make it a point to ensure we can provide software that’s affordable for most small colleges. We’re happy to get a quote for your institution if you email [email protected], even if you’re just curious and not ready to buy anything yet.
We don’t typically charge startup fees for software, even though we take care of buildout and hand over fully populated, fully functioning software.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO GET STARTED WITH CLEAN CATALOG
All the steps, from initial contact to having a fully-functioning catalog.
Initial Contact
To get started, send us a note! You can contact us here, email [email protected], or call us at 1-800-648-7146.
We typically either email with you a bit or schedule a quick call with the goal of figuring out your needs so we can put together a pricing proposal for you and schedule a software demo.
Pricing Proposal
Once we’ve talked with you about your needs, we’ll provide a detailed pricing proposal along with a high-level view of services provided. These are typically one-page documents you can easily share with other stakeholders to give a solid idea of what you’d be paying and what you’d be getting.
Software Demos
We’ll schedule an hour-long Zoom demo where we’ll discuss your specific needs and pain points and then give you a tour of how our software can help solve those problems. We allow plenty of time during demos for questions and discussion to make sure you get all the information you need for how Clean Catalog can meet your needs.
We know that catalog and curriculum often have a lot of stakeholders, so we’re happy to schedule further demos for specific groups. Sometimes we’ll schedule demos with just the curriculum committee to go over curriculum management processes in detail; other times we’ll schedule a technical demo to go over API integration, SSO, and other technical aspects.
Purchasing — RFP Process, Contracts, and/or Invoicing
We know how to work with purchasing departments! Whether we’re going through a formal RFP process or getting set up in a vendor payment system, we’ll work with your team to make sure everything gets approved and set to go.
We typically do year-to-year contracts without a lot of additional restrictions, penalties, or anything like that. We want to earn your renewal every year (and we pretty much always do!), so we don’t lock users into long-term contracts (unless that’s preferred on their end).
We know that sometimes it can take a bit to get purchasing set up, so we often get going on the buildout process before payment is completed.
Example of a Catalog Buildout Timeline
Total Implementation Timeline: 8 Weeks
WEEK 2: SHELL SITE DELIVERED
We’ll send you a shell site with initial design, populated with several sample text pages and courses. At this point, you can review:
- Design/Layout
- Course search page functionality
- Accessibility
- Site search functionality
- Course information organization and design
- Individual PDFs for courses and text pages
Week 4: Courses Imported and Sample Degrees Populated
We’ll have all the courses imported and categorized in appropriate programs. At this point the import can be reviewed for accuracy, and we can create an admin account for any adjustments that need to be made to course content. We will also have several sample degrees populated so those templates can be reviewed, along with the degree search page.
Week 6: Sample PDF ready for review
We’ll have a sample version of the whole-catalog PDF ready for review (with sample degrees). At this point the PDF can be reviewed for design, organization, etc.
Week 7: Degrees Imported
We’ll have all the degrees imported to the site and ready for review.
Week 8: All user accounts set up and workflows completed
At this point we’ll have all user accounts set up, and any workflow setup will be com- pleted. At this point site will be fully built out and ready for launch, pending any content changes on the client end.
About Clean Catalog
Clean Catalog was founded in 2015 with the goal of helping colleges and universities publish streamlined, accessible, and easy-to-manage digital publications. We believe that you shouldn’t need the budget of a large public university to afford great academic software that both your students and staff enjoy using.
We’re a for-profit LLC, but we try to be a good player in the education space. We offer four annual $500 scholarships to students based on financial need. Like most of our clients, we prioritize accessibility and access — we want to ensure that all students and potential students can access the information they need to pursue their education.
3 REASONS TO CHOOSE CLEAN CATALOG SOFTWARE
Your catalog will be more accessible and user-friendly. All of our software is accessible out of the box, with no additional work required. For most of our clients, more than 50% of their catalog traffic comes from mobile devices, so having a mobile-friendly site makes your catalog accessible and usable for your students and potential students.
Your staff will have a much easier time and will be empowered to create a better product. Customizable user workflows, granular permission settings, SSO capabilities, and templated content will make it easy to revise or publish new content to your catalog.
The initial build-out is done for you. Once your team passes off your current catalog in whatever form it may be in, Clean Catalog does a complete migration at no additional cost.
Switching From
Migrating from a print catalog to a digital catalog is a gamechanger in terms of accessibility and content management. Today’s students will be accessing your academic catalog across various devices and screen sizes. A catalog with a responsive design will ensure that it is accessible on any device your students may use. Digital catalogs are also easier to navigate and manage than standard PDF catalogs. Clean Catalog software also comes with an automatic PDF generation tool, which allows you to print any page or the entire catalog on-demand.
Switching to a digital catalog will also ease the burden of content management for your staff. PDF catalogs often require that revisions be delegated to one person who makes the changes within a Word Document or InDesign file before exporting a new catalog. This process can be tedious and often leads to multiple catalog versions circulating through campus. When you upgrade to a digital catalog, however, changes can be submitted by any user with the appropriate permissions. Even better, workflows can be customized to ensure that all content goes through the appropriate approval process.
A digital catalog will also allow your institution to grow its online presence and community outreach through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Clean Catalog software automatically adheres to SEO best practices, so your institutions will reap the benefits of increased online visibility without lifting a finger.
Case
Studies
Types of Software
We offer various software options to meet the needs of your institution. Our software options are typically the most affordable on the market. There is no initial start-up fee or hidden charges -- just one flat rate billed annually.
Course Catalog Software
Our Course Catalog Software transforms outdated PDF catalogs into digital catalogs that are accessible on any device. Content can be organized by courses, degrees, sub-degrees, emphasis areas, elective courses, or any unique structure that your institution uses. Our catalog sites are easy for students to navigate, staff to manage, and flexible enough to meet your institution’s unique needs.
Employee and Student Handbook Software
Employee handbooks and student handbooks are commonly integrated with course catalog or curriculum software. Our digital handbooks are accessible on any device and are print-ready with automatic PDF generation. We’ll do the heavy-lifting of migrating your handbook from its current format into a webpage, and work with your team to customize both the design and structure of the information.
Curriculum Management Software
We’ve simplified that process of managing your curriculum with our easy-to-use software. Your staff can utilize workflows, templated content, and user permissions to add new content, edit existing content, or submit content for approval. Our software has the capacity to connect to your SIS or any other system to help streamline content management.
Syllabus Management Software
Our Syllabus Management Software empowers your staff to create syllabi that are consistent across your institution and all departments. Custom templates ensure that no important information is omitted and that published content is always complete. All syllabi can be accessed both as a webpage and in PDF format.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR CONTENT
Clean Catalog software has countless options for customizing your content. Our team will work with you to customize the design, functionality, and organization of your digital catalogs. Here are a few ways our clients have customized their catalogs:
- Integrating their institution’s branding, including colors, graphics, photos, and logos, into the site design
- Embedding emphasis area sub-degrees within each degree page
- Creating designs in Photoshop for us to integrate into their site design
- Displaying unique information on course pages, such as a different type of credit or classification structure
- Creating Curriculum Guide Templates to provide a seamless way for staff to add in-depth information about degrees
- Designing a custom cover page for the PDF version of their catalog
If your team has a unique request or particular vision for your catalog, our team is always willing to make those happen.
Software Features
Accessibility
All Clean Catalog software is WCAG 2.2 compliant. Our software can help you meet accreditation standards for accessibility and make your important documents available to the largest possible audience.
API Integration
Clean Catalog can easily pull data from your SIS or any other system, and any data in Clean Catalog can be pulled onto your website or other systems.
Buildout Done For You
You give us your current document in whatever form it's in, and we deliver a fully-functioning site ready for you to use.
Fully Customizable
We work with you to fully customize our software to fit your needs, whether it's design, organization, functionality, or anything else.
PDF Generation
Easily generate full-catalog PDFs based on your digital version — no additional work required.
Web Fundamentals
We take care of all the web fundamentals for you — SEO, responsive design, site speed, Google Analytics, SSL, and everything else that goes into making a great web experience.
Templated Content
All content is templated — syllabi, courses, degrees, or anything else — ensuring consistency and completeness on all your publications
Program of Studies Software
With customizable layouts, workflow processes, and responsive site designs, your new digital Program of Studies will be both easy to manage and use. Your staff, students, and parents will all thank you.
Workflows
Advanced, customizable workflows with granular permissions for who gets to edit what and who can approve it.
