CRMs Allow Institutions To Analyze Layers of Student Lifecycle Data
Looking at all of the different layers of data captured within a CRM system can help universities understand the best paths to achieving student success. At the University of Arizona, various units that usually exist in silos — registrar, financial aid advising, cultural centers, study abroad, early student outreach — are all operating within the same platform that captures student appointments and case interactions.
Aronson gives one example: When a student shows up for tutoring or academic advising, the adviser can use the platform to immediately view the student’s course enrollment, prior interactions and faculty feedback regarding any concerns or positive progress. Seeing all of these interactions simultaneously allows the adviser to guide the student in a more informed manner.
CRM Success in Higher Education Requires Understanding Your People
For Jason Belland, an executive in residence at Attain Partners, the most important piece of CRM is to focus on and continue to build and grow the relationships. He explains that exploring the human side behind the need for data integration is key to adopting CRM platforms that actually get the job done — and elicit positive feedback.
DISCOVER: Student lifecycle management can contribute to institutional success.
“Because no feedback at all is actually worse than negative feedback, which at least tells you that people are interacting with it,” he says.
Before looking at the tech products out there, first get close to your people — students, faculty and staff, even regional employers — by moving beyond surface-level surveys and instead creating focus groups, having meetings with students, and interviewing faculty and staff. Find out what is driving them and try to understand them rather than just hearing their surface-level responses. For example: It’s not, “Were you happy with the cafeteria food?” but, “What are you trying to experience in the cafeteria? Is it networking? Is it alone time?”
For a successful experience, Belland points out, it’s critical to stay in touch with everyone through every phase of the project, including after launch.
“What I think some folks don’t fully appreciate about investing in CRM or beyond that technology is that your go-live day is one piece of your journey,” he says. “That’s not the end. The most interesting work is going to happen after that date. The institutions that I’m talking to that are doing this really well have built close relationships with students, faculty and staff, and employers and are keeping them in the loop.”
How Does Student Data Move Within a CRM System?
The other big part of creating a useful CRM experience is to look at how the data is flowing, from the first time a student downloads a brochure from the university website all the way to 10 years later, when the student signs up for a continuing education course to upskill. Think about how to compound the data so it becomes more of a relationship with the students.
READ MORE: Data governance is key to a strong foundation in higher ed.
The organizational implications of a discussion around data should also be considered.
“Admissions should absolutely be sharing data with advising, because it told us their hopes and dreams in their admissions essay,” Belland says. “It’s part of compounding a trusted relationship with someone when they think about changing majors, for example.”
Only after analyzing all of these factors is it time look at how CRM technology might be useful on top of that data layer. Otherwise, without the data layer solved, “it’s kind of capping the return on investment — a possibly multimillion-dollar investment — you’re going to get from the CRM,” says Belland.
