Admissions Connect is a comprehensive new tool from Salesforce.org poised to transform the way recruiting and admissions departments engage with their prospective students in the higher education space. Built on the Education Data Architecture (EDA), this new admissions CRM software caters to the needs of recruitment and admissions personnel by providing more meaningful engagement and more efficient territory management. Student data is centralized, processes are streamlined, and student support is enhanced through this new suite of Salesforce solutions generally available in Spring 2021.
Here’s why I am excited about Admissions Connect.
Innovation Through Automation
The ability for recruitment and admissions departments to minimize manual data entry and instead focus on relationship building cannot be understated. Admissions Connect features configurable Application Checklist Items that assist admissions staff in automating application completion and application review processes. These lists are used to automatically assign application requirements to the prospective student’s application record based on several factors, such as student level, preferred programs, and other configurable considerations. Applicant engagement and overall enrollment can benefit greatly from these checklists, especially within institutions where many individuals or departments are involved in the application review process.
Pairing Admissions Connect Application Checklist Items with Cloud for Good’s Application Portal Asset in our Recruitment and Admissions Accelerator, both prospective students and their families can view unfulfilled tasks, requests for documentation, and other information necessary to progress the student toward a completed application with this new technology. Within Admissions Connect, staff work in tandem with the intelligent automation to note which items have been completed and what requirements still need attention. Admission staff can view a prospective student’s application record to easily understand and provide information necessary to inform next steps.
Once an application is ready for review, Admissions Connect provides flow templates to automate the assignment of reviews to reviewers. No longer will the staff need to manually assign the review to the next in line, based on the decision provided by the previous reviewer, the application will be automatically routed through the remaining process. For highly complex application review processes, Cloud for Good’s Assignment Accelerator can be used to complement Admissions Connect flow templates to assign application reviews to the right reviewer based on specific criteria.
User-Friendly Review Interface
The application form, checklist documents, and student data within Admissions Connect are presented in an efficient, innovative manner. A carefully cultivated combination of standard and custom lightning components creates a cohesive “Reader” interface that unites everything an applicant reviewer needs within one screen. Operations teams can review and verify transcripts, recommendation letters, and other student checklist documents, all from within a single Salesforce view, through the new, built-in PDF readers. The interface features inclusive accessibility standards that pave the way for all users to interact with the application seamlessly through clearly defined tabs and color contrast ratios for the visually impaired. Additionally, Admissions Connect provides institutions with the ability to utilize a lower-cost, community license for any readers outside of the institution. With just a few clicks, a reviewer can navigate through an application’s screens and systems, and even leave notes or make recommendations on a student’s admissions status through a dedicated review pane.
Admissions Connect streamlines the application review process while deepening it as well. Decision and application management features are expanded through intuitive “endless-scrolling” reader functions that allow the reader to review the entirety of an application without the need of clicking through tabs or cycling through documents. Users can search within PDF documents, rotate or flip, focus on individual sections, and cross-reference additional detail through supporting documentation. The user-friendly interface of Admissions Connect will help to positively impact the admissions staff’s ability to thoroughly review each application and encourage proactive outreach throughout the process. A more intelligent application review lends itself to more intelligent applicant engagement, allowing prospective students to benefit from the advanced admissions technology.
Enhanced Collaboration + Accessibility
Admissions Connect encourages and enables collaboration among its users across departments, locations, and devices. Whether admissions staff are working from home, a traditional office, or on a mobile device, Admissions Connect provides a unilateral view of prospective student data. Dynamic feedback and document verification features encourage application reviewers across programs, application types, and physical locations. Even if a recruiter is on the road, applications can be accessed easily across devices and kept safe through Salesforce security.
The heightened accessibility and user-friendly nature of Admissions Connect are bolstered by real-time data and insights made available through an integrated admissions CRM. AI-powered predictions, coupled with collaboration features, help inform the specialized support needed for each individual applicant. With data-driven recommendations at hand, staff can follow through on outreach tailored to the unique student’s needs and progress them along their higher education journey.
Admissions Connect serves to make the lives of admissions departments across the higher education sector easier and paves the way for prospective students to better their academic lives more easily than ever before. The holistic view of applicants made possible through these Salesforce innovations will help admissions departments focus more on engaging prospective students and less on clerical paper pushing. Salesforce provides this new functionality natively, lowering cost and set-up time for interested users, and with out-of-the-box features ready to transform your admissions department. Cloud for Good sees great potential within the new Admissions Connect product and we can’t wait to see how higher education institutions utilize this impressive new tool.
