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Automating CodePath’s Applicant Intake for Scale 2

By December 5, 2025No Comments

About CodePath

CodePath is reprogramming higher education to create the first AI-native generation of engineers, CTOs, and founders. We deliver industry-vetted courses and career support centered on the needs of first-generation and low-income students. Our students train with senior engineers, intern at top companies, and rise together to become the tech leaders of tomorrow.
With 30,000 students and alumni from 700 colleges now working at 2,000 companies, we are reshaping the tech workforce and the industries of the future. CodePath has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024.

About This Project

Ziplines is a series A-funded ed-tech startup with one goal—helping students attain the real-world skills they need to thrive in careers they love by partnering with universities. Before the series A funding, Ziplines had a small team performing marketing, payments, and LMS operations manually. They hit a growth curve and all their systems and manual processes failed to handle the sudden growth.

Ziplines wanted to build a brain called CLAS(Central Learner Administration System) that connects HubSpot(CRM), Stripe and Affirm(payment systems), Canvas(LMS) and SCORM(course delivery). We partnered with them to build out CLAS.

Context & Challenges

CodePath offers free, high-impact tech courses to underrepresented students—helping close equity gaps in computer science. With rising brand awareness, they saw 10,000 applications for just 2,500 seats using a mix of HubSpot CRM and their Django-based delivery platform.

This led to redundant forms, manual eligibility checks, fragmented student profiles, and an outdated UX that didn’t align with their newly enhanced brand. These gaps meant operational inefficiencies, student drop-offs, and a limited ability to scale or iterate.

Discovery & Strategy

Partnering with internal teams, we conducted discovery workshops to map personas (applicants, admissions staff) and systems (HubSpot, Django course app). Key objectives emerged:

  • Consolidate application logic into a unified “One App” portal
  • Automate eligibility and level recommendations (e.g., Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
  • Centralize student profiles for multi-application tracking
  • Align UX with CodePath’s updated branding

Solution: “One App” Intake Platform

We created One App, a centralized intake portal with tight HubSpot integration:

Unified applicant profile: One form, one saved record, multiple applications.
Smart recommendations: Automatic course and level suggestions based on credentials.
Eligibility automation: Built into workflows, reducing manual reviews.
Brand-aligned UX: Clean, cohesive design integrated into the application flow.
HubSpot + Django sync: Real-time data flow between CRM and delivery systems.

 Launch & Outcomes

01

Increased Completion Rate
Reduced drop-offs from repeated form entries by creating a single, streamlined application proces

02

Saved Hundreds of Staff Hours
Automated eligibility checks and level recommendations, significantly reducing delays in admissions.

03

Enabled Richer Analytics
Surfaced new insights on applicant demographics and marketing campaign performance for better decision-making.

04

Created a Scalable Foundation
Allowed CodePath to easily extend course offerings and programs without reworking the core application workflow.

05

Anthem Awards Silver Winner
Our work on the “One App” platform was honored for “Best Use of Technology.”

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