Reach the right students,
right when it matters
If ZotMail reaches everyone, Spark reaches the right people. Add your service to the Spark Library and connect with the students most likely to act on it.
Partner with usA personalized hub for campus support
Spark connects students with useful campus resources and opportunities. A key feature is the Spark Library — an array of services spanning academic support to career readiness. Each week, Spark combines these resources with institutional data to curate targeted opportunities for each student, so the resources they see are tailored and more likely to land.
Spark is in its first year and still growing. We're actively expanding the Spark Library — and your services may be exactly what makes a difference for our students.
- Cut through the noise and ensure the right students see your opportunities
- Promote your services at the right time for students to take immediate action
- Send students directly into your intake pathways
- Encourage deeper engagement for students who have visited you before
Each resource in the library is a "spark"
We call each resource a "spark" because it's meant to spark a student into action. Each spark has a name, description, and office — plus targeting criteria that determine which students see it.
If ZotMail reaches everyone, Spark reaches the right people.
Resources in Spark are carefully targeted so they reach the students who most need to see them. All sparks include targeting criteria that tell the tool which students they should be presented to. Each week, Spark calculates a matching score for each student against all sparks in the library and presents up to four top matches.
Each spark can include criteria based on a variety of student attributes, all sourced from institutional data. This diagram describes how this data flows:
What makes a good (or poor) spark?
What makes a good spark
- Actionable: can be easily utilized without personal or environmental barriers to entry
- Felicitous: is proactive and timely to the student's circumstances
- Tailored: resonates with the student because it aligns with their unique goals and observable environment
- Accessible: is useful regardless of a student's needs, abilities, and learning preferences
- Supportive language: is affirming, clear, inclusive, and trauma-informed
- Evidence-based: improves the chance of return for the student
What makes a poor spark
Because of the targeted nature of the Spark Library, broad announcements are not a good fit. Examples of resources that aren't a good fit:
- ✗General campus announcements ("The newly renovated food court is now open!")
- ✗Broadly distributed opportunities with narrow interest ("Scholarship for skydiving enthusiasts")
- ✗Actions students may have already taken without knowing their status ("Reminder to pick up commencement tickets")
How to add your resource to the library
We consider our Spark contributors partners, so the first step is getting in touch. Email us at spark-support@uci.edu to get started — here's how it usually goes: