University Business - August 2006 - (Page 46)

J bJ Ph RETENTION University of Scranton students can ask professors for help or find answers to questions online, rather than having to speak up in class. Intentions instead of when a staff member can organize it , and recruiters gain contact their advisor or register. She e-mailed 306 freshmen and more free time for personal follow-up. Eventually prospects will be wound up talking to 160. able to set up an account, request campus tours, and receive person- She was also able to do exit interviews, which provided informa- alized information based on indicated interests. tion on areas to improve. With constituent relationship manage- Admissions must be doing something right, since recruitment ment CRM systems, institutions like UA are using data to develop efforts, combined with a mandatory University College course strategies that help keep their students through graduation. for all freshmen, helped contribute to an 84.6 percent retention CRM Goes to School rate in 2004, which is an improvement of about a percentage point over the first three years of the decade and the same rate as in CRM has been a hot topic in higher education in recent years. 2003 . We pride ourselves on having a lot of personal touch with Some systems are simply used to capture and store data about stu- our students, Hamilton says, adding that there has been a general dents, while others are set up to generate communication opportu- trend of increased retention over the past 10 years. nities. They can range from discrete programs used by one or two departments to institution-wide systems that create a 360-degree view of the student. According to the Eduventures report Constituent Relationship CRM is allowing us to Management Makes Inroads in Higher Education, 23 percent of institutions in the 2004-2005 academic year had CRM software in fully engage students. place, with another 22 percent saying they planned to implement CRM solutions during 2005-2006. Jerry Harrell, Ivy Tech Community College, Central Indiana CRM systems usually start in Admissions as a way to keep track of recruitment activities, but they can also be used to enhance re- tention efforts. Here's how a handful of institutions of higher edu- Striking a Balance cation are using these systems to boost retention. At Cardinal Stritch University Wis. , the goal is to find a balance Retention Starts with Admissions between self-service and having students talk to an advisor. At the University of Oklahoma, retention starts with identifying Using Jenzabar's Internet Campus Solution JICS , advisors can qualified students who will succeed at OU, says Melanee Hamil- pull a student's information online before arranging an appointment. ton, director of communication for Recruitment Services. We're Under the school's old system, all of this was up to the student, who careful about who we go after. would have to go to a student center in person to get his or her re- To that end, they are implementing Intelliworks' IRM Enter- cords and then use a form to request an advisor meeting. prise to replace a homegrown system. The new system allows for Eventually, students will be able to see their own records and more automation in the recruitment process based on student be- what classes they still need for their major online, leading to more havior. Prospects receive communications in a more timely manner meaningful meetings with their advisor. JICS also allows faculty to 46 | August 2006 universitybusiness.com CRM.indd 46 7/21/06 4:11:55 PM http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - August 2006

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Stats Watch
Viewpoint
Financial Aid
On the Hill
Admissions
Future Shock
An Education in AV Technology
Retention Intentions
Endowment Management
Good Data In, Good Data Out
Sticking with the Tried & True
Home, Sweet Home
Faculty Issues in Online Education
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - August 2006