Pensacola State College (PSC) provides an excellent college experience to its 13,000 students¡ªa number bound to grow. In 2025, PSC¡¯s full-time enrollment grew by 26%, contributing to a 43% increase over the past two years. Academic offerings include associate and bachelor degrees, vocational certificates, and other diplomas and certificates. PSC ranks in the nation¡¯s top 1% in affordable tuition and provides millions of dollars of financial assistance to students each year. During the 2023-2024 school year, 72% of students received financial assistance from the College, while 80% received a form of grant aid.
Modern students need modern solutions.
Prior to implementing ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ, PSC served as the host institution for a shared, consortium-based legacy student enterprise system supporting another Florida college. Eventually, through thoughtful collaboration, executive leadership at both institutions determined it was time to sunset the consortium model and invest in a modern, enterprise-level platform that allowed each institution to refocus their resources towards innovation, strategic priorities, and student success. PSC needed a platform that could meet their data consistency, governance, and transparency requirements while combating barriers to student success.?
Many PSC students only have access to a smartphone¡ªnot a desktop or laptop. Michael Johnston, Associate Vice President, Institutional Research and Enterprise Solutions pinpoints that if students ¡°can¡¯t do something from [their] phone, that could be a blocker.¡± In 2019, PSC chose ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ for its single-platform, mobile-first experience, ensuring students could access information, upload documents, and stay connected with advisors. ¡°We feel like we made a really good decision,¡± Johnston enthuses.
Technology alone does not drive transformation, people do. Investing in our people ensures we are not only implementing systems effectively, but continuously evolving in support of our students and mission.
President, Pensacola State College
A+ in implementation, A+ in partnership.
PSC¡¯s journey with ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ began in July 2020 when ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ HCM, Payroll, and Financials went live at PSC. The ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student project was underway shortly after, in fall 2020. Johnston shares that the College decided to implement ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student because they ¡°felt comfortable and confident with the higher education roadmap¡± from ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ and appreciated their commitment to public institutions. Above all, ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ treated Johnston and PSC ¡°as a partner and not as a client.¡±
Quality assurance reviews and frequent meetings with the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ team aided deployment during COVID. Johnston shares that he was able to stay in close contact with ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ throughout this process and post go-live. Their relationship remains a collaborative partnership. Fast forward to 2025: PSC won the Collaboration Champion ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Higher Education Innovation Award at ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Rising.
Success for the entire student lifecycle.
Before classes begin, students can complete their college application in ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student and receive strategically-timed, high-quality communications from PSC. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ also automates assignment of academic and financial aid advisors based on institution-defined requirements. By harnessing ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student to simplify application, enrollment, and financial aid processes, PSC reduces friction and supports an accessible path to education.
²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student provides a simplified experience throughout the student lifecycle, giving users immediate access and visibility to financial aid packages, tuition and fees, academic information, and outstanding action items. Students can register for courses, request a parking decal and student ID, track academic progress, apply for waivers and exemptions, update personal information, locate advisors, view notes from different departments, and access final grades. All from their mobile phone.
We were very comfortable and confident with the higher education roadmap from ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ and their commitment to public institutions.That commitment gave us a sense of security and well-being.
Associate Vice President, Institutional Research and Enterprise Solutions
Streamlining processes across campus.
The benefits for students were clear and anticipated, but the positive culture shift among the 1,281 faculty and staff members at PSC was unexpected. Manual paperwork processes became automated, system-driven workflows. Johnston has even observed staff members ditch their filing cabinets. Now, documents live in ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ, and administrators with strategically governed access control can find and view what was once locked away.
Access to the proper information and the ability to run reports independently has turned functional users into empowered data owners. Colleagues can now use their phone or desktop to access necessary information such as the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) data for their department or a record of student email addresses for an engagement campaign.
With ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend, we are building a self-sustaining model that reduces reliance on external resources, strengthens knowledge, and enables us to adapt in real time.
President, Pensacola State College
Expanding what¡¯s possible with ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend.
PSC continues to innovate with ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend, a developer experience that allows organizations to build apps as an extension of the ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ platform. When new requirements arise, PSC innovates using the power of Extend. With ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend and Orchestrate, the Office of Institutional Research saved roughly 325 hours by streamlining FTE report deployment. The project standardized FTE calculations across PSC, improving budgeting, resource planning, institutional growth, and compliance capabilities.?
²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend also enhances student experience. To support their large military and veteran student population, PSC built a ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Extend app that lets students manage all veteran benefits in one place. PSC also created a parking app that enables students, faculty, and staff to submit vehicle information, request parking decals, and appeal fines directly from their phones. These innovations reduce administrative friction, allowing students to focus on learning, while PSC handles the rest.
Forever forward for student success.
²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ Student is constantly evolving and offers frequent opportunities to test new features and provide feedback¡ªsomething PSC, championed by innovators like Johnston, is always excited to pursue. Several new features and apps are on the horizon for the trailblazing PSC, including a Student Athlete Stipend App, a Faculty Workload App, and an Instructor Credentials App.
PSC has made tremendous use of ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ products to deliver a single platform for the entire student lifecycle. Self-service and mobile app capabilities enable students to apply, review records, manage payments, and more. Likewise, faculty and staff now run reports independently and access necessary information with ease. ²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ is key to Pensacola Pirates¡¯ success.