New Technology Improves Recruitment Communication Processes for Prospective Students

Each academic year, DePaul electronically processes data from hundreds of thousands of prospective undergraduate and graduate students from diverse populations, each with unique communication needs related to their areas of academic interest. The university has records from half a million prospective students for the current recruitment cycle alone. How does DePaul manage all this information in support of its recruitment and enrollment goals?

The answer is through what is known as customer relationship management (CRM) software. EMM’s Enrollment Systems and Operations is in the process of installing and implementing Slate, a best-in-class CRM solution, this year. Facing a longer recruitment cycle and a more complex and competitive environment, Slate will allow DePaul to respond to the pressing need to more strategically segment, sequence and sustain its communications with prospective students.

The university’s current CRM, EMAS, was implemented in 2005. While it allows staff to manage communication plans for prospective students throughout the enrollment cycle, the software caters best to undergraduate populations and requires many modifications and workarounds to support the growing complexity and diversity of DePaul’s enrollment mix. Staff and faculty often have to pull information from three different systems just to review applications. DePaul’s ambitious enrollment goals require a more effective, efficient and agile CRM system than the one implemented a decade ago.

Slate is a more integrated, flexible and responsive tool that will better automate and segment recruitment communication processes and allow administrators to access everything they need from one system. The functionality Slate offers will eliminate many labor-intensive tasks, directing staff time toward more strategic efforts such as segmentation and targeting of recruitment communications to unique populations and programs.

“With the active support of our colleagues in Information Services, the EMM team is making the rapid implementation of Slate one of our highest priority goals for the coming year,” said David Kalsbeek, senior vice president for EMM. “It will substantially enhance our student recruitment efforts in every program at every level.”

Slate will have a phased implementation process, collecting data from prospective freshmen by Jan. 1, 2016, and prospective graduate students by spring 2016. The software is expected to be fully implemented by fall 2016.