The Campus That Outgrew Its Map: How Elmira College Found a Platform as Storied as Its History
About Elmira College
Founded in 1855, Elmira College is a private liberal arts institution located in Elmira, New York. It was originally established as the first college for women, equal in vigor to men’s institutions. Since then, it has evolved into a co-ed school with a long history of academic innovation and student-centered learning. On average, they enroll about 800 students per academic year.
Elmira is also widely recognized for its connection to Mark Twain, who is also known as “the father of American Literature.” The famed author spent his summers in Elmira, hunched over desks, pen in hand, and wrote several of his most celebrated works there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His writing study (interestingly shaped as an octagon) now resides on campus, serving as both a historical landmark and an attraction for visitors from all around the world. In a fun nod to the study’s unique shape, octagon motifs are hidden throughout campus, tucked into brick walls and more — turning it into an unofficial scavenger hunt for students and visitors alike.
Despite the small campus setting, Elmira College sought ways to improve campus navigation, support key events, and engage prospective students, alumni, and visitors alike by partnering with Concept3D to create an interactive campus map that could serve multiple audiences on a single platform.
“I think this is the most user-friendly [campus map] that I’ve seen, and it has a lot of options to expand use that we didn’t see in other options.”
Jennifer Swain, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
The Challenge: Outgrowing Static Campus Maps and Tours
“We’ve had many iterations of the map in the almost 12 years I have been with Elmira College,” Jennifer Swain, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, explained.
None of them met Elmira’s needs. Early virtual tours consisted of photo galleries that were manually updated and filled, a painstaking task that yielded very little for the time invested. There were other solutions too, but they relied on third-party vendors to update the tours, which was inconvenient.
“We did then try a different kind of virtual tour through a competitor company, but again, I think the biggest struggle for us was the inability to update it. We had to work through the host organization in order to do that.” — Jennifer Swain, Vice President of Communications and Marketing
Eventually, it was easier for Elmira College to revert back to using static PDF maps.
While functional, the PDF lacked flexibility. Updates required additional design work, and event-specific information, campus changes, and visitor guidance could not be easily customized or updated in real time. They had to rely on a graphic designer to make the smallest changes, which led to great frustration.
“We didn’t have any ability to put any narrative to the [virtual tours], and it was clunky to update” – Justin Cates, Digital Content Producer at Elmira College for three years.
For a campus that values storytelling, especially given its deep historical roots, this was an issue.
As Elmira hosted commencement ceremonies, alumni reunions, conferences, campus visits, and community events throughout the year, the communications teams knew they needed a more dynamic solution that could keep pace with campus operations for students, visitors, staff, and alumni alike.
The Solution
For Elmira College, Concept3D offered more than a campus map and tour. It provided a flexible communication platform capable of supporting multiple audiences (visitors, students, alumni, staff) and use cases.
The interactive map enabled the college to update locations, create custom tours, highlight event-specific information, and provide visitors with accurate navigation resources without relying on external vendors or redesigning static assets.
The platform also made it easier to support campus visitors. Whether prospective students were exploring campus before a visit, alumni were returning for reunion weekend, or community members were attending a public event, the map provided clear navigation, parking information, and location-specific details.
For Justin Cates, Digital Content Producer at Elmira College, one of the biggest advantages was the ability to continuously evolve the map as campus needs changed.
“It’s a living thing, so it continues to evolve as we do as an institution. I really like that too—it grows with us, and that’s neat.”
Justin Cates, Digital Content Producer
Supporting Events Across Campus
One of the most immediate benefits of the interactive map has been event management.
Throughout the year, Elmira hosts commencement activities, accepted student programs, conferences, alumni reunions, Family Weekend, and the long-running Octagon Fair, a tradition of the institution since the late 1960s. Many of these events occur simultaneously and involve hundreds of visitors navigating campus.
The communications team uses Concept3D to create event-specific categories, parking information, venue directions, and customized map views that help attendees quickly find where they need to go.
During Accepted Student Recognition Day alone, Elmira welcomed hundreds of visitors to campus. The interactive map provided another touchpoint for students and families to navigate activities with confidence.
“It just makes it so much easier logistically to plan different things like that.” — Jennifer Swain
The platform also helped support special guests and large-scale institutional events. When Elmira hosted the U.S. Secretary of Education, the communications team used direct map links to share detailed campus locations with the Secretary’s advance and security teams before arrival.
“I’m not sure if we could have pulled that off without having the extra directions for folks to guide them where [all the buildings and parking] would be.”
Justin Cates, Digital Content Producer
Extending the Campus Experience Beyond Campus
One of Elmira’s most innovative uses of Concept3D has been the creation of the Mark Twain Trail Tour.
The tour begins on campus and guides visitors through locations connected to Mark Twain’s life and legacy, including his famous writing study and other significant sites throughout Elmira and the surrounding community. It ends outside of campus where Mark Twain lived, taking the tour’s audience through the scenic route to explore Elmira’s history to the fullest.
The experience serves multiple audiences simultaneously. Prospective students learn more about the college’s unique history, visitors gain educational context about Twain’s connection to the region, and tourists can easily navigate historical landmarks across the city. The map’s engagement patterns highlight this success, with the Admissions Visitors Information Building attracting the second-highest level of interaction, surpassed only by the Academic and Administrative Building.
“We have a lot of visitors who come specifically to Elmira from all around the world looking for these places, so that’s kind of a neat thing that we can help them find,” Justin Cates mentioned.
The initiative has grown beyond campus as well. Through Elmira’s Center for Mark Twain Studies, the college secured tourism funding to help promote the trail and attract visitors to the region.
A New Tool for Advancement and Fundraising
Looking ahead, Elmira College sees opportunities to use Concept3D in support of its comprehensive fundraising campaign.
The communications team plans to work with advancement to create customized donor tours tailored to individual interests and philanthropic priorities. For example, prospective donors interested in science programs could explore research and academic facilities through curated tours that showcase both current spaces and future renovation opportunities.
“We can do a visual tour for them of the science spaces. Here’s what it looks like now, here are some of the renovations we would be looking to support during the campaign.” — Jennifer Swain
This approach allows Elmira to tell more personalized stories while helping donors visualize the impact of their support.
Accessibility and Support
Accessibility has been a large priority at Elmira College as digital requirements continue to shift across higher education. The college has put together a task force specifically focused on keeping its online resources in step with current and upcoming Department of Justice guidelines — and Concept3D’s own commitment to accessibility means the campus map is one less thing to worry about.
For a tight-knit communications and IT team, this support helps reduce administrative burden while ensuring an important campus resource remains inclusive.
“To be able to partner with Concept3D and know that you are taking care of ensuring the map meets the DOJ guidelines is definitely a help….compared to just a PDF, which we all know is not accessible.”
Jennifer Swain, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
A Platform That Builds Community
While the map was originally implemented to improve navigation and visitor experiences, Elmira has discovered benefits that extend well beyond wayfinding.
Prospective students use the map to explore campus before visiting. Event attendees rely on it for directions and schedules. Visitors use it to experience local history. Potential donors engage with it to see the impact of their gifts.
Perhaps most surprisingly, alumni have embraced it as a new way to reconnect with campus.
“Our alumni take a tremendous amount of pride in having been here and being still a part of it… They’ve taken it as a bit of a pride point.” — Justin Cates
What began as a campus navigation solution has evolved into a platform that strengthens connections between the college, its community, and its history.
Looking Ahead
As Elmira College continues expanding its use of Concept3D, the institution plans to develop additional tours, support fundraising initiatives, and further integrate the platform into campus events and visitor experiences.
By providing a flexible, accessible, and easy-to-manage solution, Concept3D has become more than a map—it has become a tool for storytelling, engagement, and connection across the entire Elmira College community.
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