Project Insight: Customer Relationship Management for Learner Success

Launching Pirate360 CRM for Academic Affairs

In 2023, a work group was formed and charged with reviewing the Academic Affairs division’s use of IT systems and solutions that could inform an institutional approach to communicating with students post-enrollment. The work group gained an understanding of departmental needs, tools and systems used, and gaps in service through a series of meetings and a survey. Through that requirements gathering, for instance, the work group found there were significant unmet needs in Student Recruitment around data analysis to gauge effectiveness, in creating custom messaging and communication plans, in Student Engagement to track student interactions, in Reporting and Analytics across several capabilities, and with Alumni and Donor relations.

While the university uses Banner as our Entity Resource Planning (ERP) software for campus operations (e.g., student billing, course registration, etc.), no single platform exists to support other operational and strategically focused needs. This has led to software sprawl, a patchwork of dozens of disconnected niche systems, and the use of spreadsheets to manage core business needs causing a lack of insights, automation, and strategic use of university data. The work group’s effort resulted in a formal collection of business requirements in key areas of focus, including Advising, Career Services, Cashier, Experiential Learning, Financial Aid, Graduate School, Registrar, Student Affairs, and Student Success, and a formal Request for Information (RFI) was issued by ECU’s Materials Management department in January 2024. Between February – June 2024, stakeholders from across the university were invited to review vendor responses and provide feedback on the technology solutions demonstrated.

Ultimately, the CRM work group recommended Salesforce’s Education Cloud and Marketing Cloud as the platforms to enable a 360° view of and communicate with ECU learners. Phase 1 of ECU’s Salesforce journey will begin in 2025 with implementing the Academic Advising and Experiential Learning capabilities, but Education Cloud can support a myriad of business capabilities across the university.  In fall 2024, project sponsors and ITCS leadership worked closely with Salesforce Program Architects and stakeholders from across the campus to identify additional opportunities to strategically utilize Education Cloud. This work will inform a multi-phase product roadmap which will be used to guide ECU’s transformational experience. More information will be forthcoming on the product roadmap and on Phase 1 once it begins.