Introduction
Indian educational journey is progressing at a phenomenal pace. Government of India data show that India has witnessed a 3X increase in Universities, IIMs, and IITs in 9 years between 2019 & 2023. With a progressive increase in higher education institutions, India’s growth story has reached monumental landmarks.
Higher student enrollment is loading up the education system with lots of data. Every institution goes through innumerable academic operations in the traditional style, which increases administrative time. However, higher education CRMs are like a beacon of light to support educational institutions in increasing administrative efficiency, streamlining recruitment, automating academic management, and improving communication between schools and students.
In this article, we will discuss higher education CRM and its features. You will also find insight into top CRMs for institutions.
What is a higher education CRM?
A higher education CRM is a tool for schools to streamline and automate their academic and administrative operations and improve communication with stakeholders such as students, parents, staff, and teachers.
Higher education CRMs offer a centralized platform to:
Track student information: It can track information from prospective students in admission applications to other students, records of academic transcripts, billing, and financial information.
Manage admissions processes: E-Admission has features that help with the application review process, send admission-related messages, and track enrollment.
Facilitate student support: Emerging: Offer students one-point access to resources, appointments, and academic advising.
Enhance alumni relations: It can monitor alumni interaction activities, conduct classes, and develop associations between alumni and the institution forever and always.
Manage fundraising efforts: Schools can store donor records and analyze the results of the campaigns. A CRM will also help you build rapport with the donors.
Improve faculty and staff productivity: Coordinate and organize appointments and plans, arrange appointments as well as schedules.
Overall, empowering the various higher education stakeholders with a comprehensive analysis of the time they spend with the institution or their level of engagement with it enhances the delivery of great experiences, optimizes the overall functionality of institutions, and leads to the best achievement of strategic plans to meet the goals of these institutions.
The key features of a higher education CRM
A higher education CRM offers features to streamline operations and enhance interactions with students, faculty, staff, Alumni, and donors. Here are some of the key features:
1. Student Information Management: A CRM is a centralized storage for student data management, including academic records, contact information, and scholarship details.
2. Admissions Management: It can streamline the admissions process, from application review to enrollment.
3. Academic Advising: It also facilitates student-advisor interactions, tracks academic progress, and can offer prompt alerts to teachers or parents for their immediate attention
4. Career Services: An advanced higher education CRM can offer to manage career counseling appointments, job postings, and Alumni mentorship programs for young students.
5. Faculty Profile Management: A CRM can maintain faculty profiles, including research interests, publications, and teaching assignments.
6. Workload Management: With CRM, schools can automatically generate teaching schedules, track working hours, and evaluate faculty performance.
7. Staff Management: It can manage staff information, assign tasks, track performance, and offer comprehensive access to automatic leave management.
8. Alumni Database: A CRM simplifies Alumni management by maintaining a comprehensive database of Alumni contact details, career paths, and giving history.
9. Alumni Engagement: It can schedule events and send communications to foster lifelong connections with Alumni.
10. Campaign Management: A higher education CRM can offer insightful data on planning and executing fundraising campaigns, including events, and automate sending mail and online appeals.
11. Customizable Reports: It can generate reports on various aspects of the institution’s operations, such as lead generation, student enrollment, examination results, Alumni engagement, and fundraising performance.
- 12. Data Analytics: It can analyze data to identify trends, make informed decisions, and improve efficiency.
5 best higher education CRMs for modern institutions
Choosing the right higher education CRM can significantly impact your institution’s efficiency, student satisfaction, and overall success. Here are five top-rated CRMs that cater to the specific needs of modern higher education institutions:
- Kenyt is a comprehensive higher education CRM platform designed to streamline operations and enhance student experiences.
Key features: It offers admissions management, student information system (SIS), placement assistance, Alumni relations, and faculty and staff management.
- Strengths: It is a comprehensive platform that is extremely user-friendly. It’s also scalable and robust in reporting.
Salesforce Education Cloud
- Salesforce Education Cloud is a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) platform specifically designed to meet the unique needs of higher education institutions.
Key features: It has admission management, student success, and Alumni relations.
Strengths: It offers scalability, integration with Salesforce’s other products, and advanced analytics.
Meritto
- Meritto is a leading higher education CRM platform designed to streamline operations and enhance student experiences.
Key features: Meritto has admissions management, student information system (SIS), and placement assistance.
- Strengths: It is a comprehensive platform, has a user-friendly interface, is scalable, and has a strong focus on student success.
Monday.com
- Monday Sales CRM is a revolutionary shared workspace that manages any department and program. It can also manage student communication from anywhere.
Key features: Project Management, Course Management, Admissions Management, Student Success, and Event Management.
- Strengths: It is flexible, has a user-friendly interface and visual boards, and offers free student accounts.
ZOHO CRM
- Zoho CRM is a comprehensive CRM platform that can meet the unique needs of higher education institutions. It offers a range of features that can be beneficial for managing student relationships, faculty and staff interactions, and fundraising efforts.
Key features: Admissions management, student relationship management, faculty and staff management, Alumni relations, and fundraising and development
- Strengths: It is a versatile platform that offers wide integration, affordable pricing, and customization options.
Conclusion
Choosing the right higher education CRM is essential for modern institutions seeking to streamline operations, enhance student experiences, and achieve their strategic goals.
Consider features like scalability, integration capabilities, cost, and user-friendliness. By selecting a CRM that empowers your institution to manage student relationships, admissions, fundraising, and other critical areas effectively, you can drive institutional success and create a positive and engaging learning environment for your students.
Frequently Asked Questions
A higher education CRM can help institutions streamline operations, enhance student experiences, improve fundraising efforts, and make data-driven decisions.
A CRM can streamline the admission process, track applicant information, and nurture leads.
A CRM can track student progress, provide academic advising, and facilitate career counseling, helping to improve student retention and success.
Key considerations include data migration, user training, customization, and integration with existing systems.
About the Author
Nisha Sneha
Nisha Sneha is a passionate content writer with 5 years of experience creating impactful content for SAAS products, new-age technologies, and software applications. Currently, she is contributing to Kenyt.AI by crafting engaging content for its readers. Creating captivating content that provides accurate information about the latest advancements in science and technology has been at the core of her creativity.
In addition to writing, she enjoys gardening, reading, and swimming as hobbies.