Recruitment and admissions
Recruiters manage inquiries from fairs, web forms, schools, and agents. A funnel from inquiry to application to enrollment shows where prospects drop off. Segmentation by program, region, and interest allows tailored communication, and recruiters can prioritize applicants most likely to enroll. Track yield by source so recruitment spending goes where it works.
Admissions staff need a clear checklist for each application, with missing documents flagged and applicants nudged automatically.
Student success and support
Advisors support students through registration, finances, and academic challenges. A shared view of a student's interactions, alerts, and appointments lets advisors coordinate instead of repeating questions. Early-alert processes can flag students who may be struggling, based on factors the institution chooses, so staff can reach out sooner. Be transparent about what data is used and why.
- Provide appointment scheduling and reminders to reduce missed meetings.
- Give departments a knowledge base so answers are consistent.
- Route cases to the right office with clear service targets.
Advancement, giving and alumni engagement
Advancement teams manage prospects, major gifts, annual giving, events, and alumni volunteering. When alumni records connect to the student record, fundraisers know a donor's program and activities without a new data project. Pipeline views for major gifts and structured stewardship tasks keep relationships moving and give leadership a forecast.
Events, campaigns and communications discipline
Open days, information sessions, convocations, and alumni reunions all generate registrations, attendance, and follow-up. Treat events as part of the same relationship record, so attendance informs recruitment, advising, or giving conversations. Communication rules matter just as much: agree how many messages a person may receive, which office owns which topic, and how preferences are honored across all departments.
A shared calendar of planned campaigns lets offices see overlaps before they happen. Students and alumni notice when five departments write in the same week with different tone and different asks.
Working alongside the student information system
The student information system owns enrollment, grades, and official records, and it should remain the source for them. Salesforce typically receives a limited subset: program, status, and key dates, to support engagement and service. Clear integration rules, with agreed fields and refresh timing, prevent conflicting versions of the truth and limit exposure of sensitive records.
Implementation and integration services →Decisions to settle before configuration starts
- What is the master person record? Decide how prospects, applicants, students, and alumni link to one person, and which system creates the identifier.
- Who owns communications? Set rules for who may contact whom and how often, so a student does not receive overlapping messages from five offices.
- Which student data may be stored? Limit fields to what engagement and service require, aligned with your institution's privacy policy and applicable law.
- How do departments share records? Define visibility between admissions, advising, and advancement so sensitive information stays with those who need it.
A realistic first 90 days
- Days 1 to 30. Choose one office, usually recruitment or advising, define the shared person model, and clean the starting data.
- Days 31 to 60. Launch the first office's process with integrations to the web forms and student system fields it needs.
- Days 61 to 90. Add a second office, review communications rules, and report on funnel or case metrics for leadership.
Pitfalls in institutional projects
- Departmental silos. Each office wants its own configuration. Without a shared person model, the one-record goal fails.
- Ignoring privacy rules. Student records have specific protections. Involve your privacy officer from the start.
- Seasonal timing. Launching during peak admissions or registration multiplies risk. Plan releases around the academic calendar.
- Underinvesting in training. Staff turnover is high in some offices. Build short onboarding modules for new users.
