Case Study – Morgan Community College

Transitioning from a traditional document-based course catalog to a digital solution can be daunting, especially when time and resources are limited. For Morgan Community College (MCC), the need for an accessible, easily updated catalog became urgent when a state law was issued requiring digital accessibility. Their staff had just two months to make their catalog compliant. Thanks to a quick onboarding process, responsive support, and customized features, Clean Catalog helped MCC transform its catalog into an accessible, user-friendly resource that was published within their two month deadline. The new catalog system has already improved MCC's advising and curriculum management processes, setting the college up for long-term success in meeting both state requirements and student needs.

The Challenges

Before Clean Catalog stepped in, Morgan Community College (MCC) had long relied on a Word document for its course catalog—a process that quickly became challenging for their team. Facing a range of issues from conflicting edits to missed updates, MCC's Marketing Manager, Jessica Edington, recognized that their cumbersome Word document process was no longer sustainable. Their catalog was “not accessible at all and had been edited over and over again to the point that it was impossible to make accessible without starting from scratch." This outdated approach created an array of problems. Staff members frequently encountered conflicts as they edited the catalog, resulting in accidental overwrites or misaligned updates. Changes in one section were often missed in other areas, leading to an error-prone and inefficient catalog system.

More importantly, the Word document format fell short of accessibility standards, a growing priority given the new state law. With a tight two-month deadline to meet this mandate, MCC sought a digital solution that would not only streamline catalog management but also ensure accessibility and ease of use for their team. As Edington noted, their team "needed a digital solution that would make it easier for our team to create an accurate catalog that multiple people could edit and those edits would change across the entire document. We needed a solution that took the design out of the equation so that our team could focus on the data - but at the end of the day it would still look good because of the styling built into the product.” Mission accepted.

The Process

Working under a time constraint, MCC moved quickly through the transition to Clean Catalog software. Their stakeholders found that the contract and purchasing process was quick and straightforward, with the project costing about half of what other providers had quoted. This smooth onboarding helped accelerate the timeline to meet state requirements.

To kick off the transition, Clean Catalog migrated MCC’s catalog to the new software, incorporating custom designs that were important to their brand. "The team was extremely responsive, always friendly, patient with our changing needs, and did a lot of the heavy lifting for us. This was by far and away the smoothest project I have worked on, and I believe it was a direct result of Clean Catalog's team and their determination to solve the issues we were facing in the most efficient, effective way possible," Edington said of the process. The Clean Catalog team guided MCC through each stage, providing comprehensive training to ensure that all staff members, regardless of technical proficiency, felt comfortable navigating and editing the new system. MCC would always have a trusted resource as staff members and roles changed.

Our Solutions

Through collaboration with the MCC team, we delivered a fully accessible, digital catalog that vastly improved their institution’s previous system. With streamlined editing functionality, staff can now make updates without worrying about overwriting each other's work or missing key changes. As Jessica noted, "The final product is easy to use for anyone on our staff—even those who aren't very tech proficient. [The catalogs] are fast, clean, well-designed, easier to edit, and 100% fully accessible."

By special request of the MCC staff, we developed a specialized archiving system for MCC that includes catalogs dating back to 1972, preserving the college's history and making it easy to reference past curriculum changes. Archived catalogs live in a custom-branded section on the catalog’s homepage. To integrate the catalog smoothly with MCC’s existing branding, Clean Catalog also created a custom footer matching the college's primary website. This cohesive look positions the catalog as an extension of MCC's brand, creating a seamless experience for students and staff alike.

Looking Forward

Since launching the Clean Catalog platform, MCC has already noticed significant improvements. The new digital catalog has contributed to a smoother advising process and made it easier for MCC’s instructional team to keep track of curriculum updates. "We have already seen a marked improvement in our advising efforts, and the ability for our instruction team to keep track of the ever-changing curriculum and programs for our college," Edington shared.

With a trusted partner in Clean Catalog, MCC can continue to focus on providing a high-quality educational experience for students, supported by a catalog system that is flexible, efficient, and fully accessible. Edington’s final words capture her team’s satisfaction with their Clean Catalog experience: "If you are wondering if you should go with Clean Catalog, please don't hesitate—I enthusiastically recommend them and know you will not regret it."