Utilizing an Admission’s CRM for the Life Cycle of a Transfer Student Richard Beatty Admissions Operations Manager Farmingdale State College – State University of New York

What Type of CRM are you Using? Static Only shows the most up-to-date information No “History” of the file Need to be creative in handling data Dynamic Shows all information Has history An extension of your ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Current student CRM such as Ellucian Advise

Communicating to Transfer Students Transfer students are not as easy to label as freshman because they range in age and experience Younger Transfer Students, 18-24 year olds Need for Stability Largest majors by conferred Bachelor Degrees in 2014-15 were Business, Health Professions, Social Sciences, Psychology, and Bio/Medical Need for Safety Strength in numbers Involved family units Need for constant and consistent communication Desire for direct personal interaction Older Transfer Students Convenience Employability

Inquiries To Mail or not Mail, that is the question? Email Are you mailing information that can easily be found on the website? Is this information new or something not found on an admissions table? What is your return on investment? Email Program specific with link to application Invite to events such as Open House, tour, or specific transfer event Tracking your results Utilize admissions CRM to track how many of your mailing and emailed students apply What is the golden number? Storing Inquiry Data Matching Inquiry Data to applicant data

Great! They applied, now what? Importing all relative data into CRM from ERP Auto-Import is a function on most if not all CRMs Work flows for processors Set up an automatic email alert with a list of names and IDs to be processed Or have the office login and view their work flow Work flow for document processing Does your CRM have imagining? A “Thank you for your Application” with ID number and how to check status Reminder to them that all communication is done by email

Missing Documents Checklist dependent Mandatory versus not Mandatory items Best ways to import checklist items Communication Plan for Missing Documents Students are less likely to check an online portal Two major ways to handle Missing Document Communications through an CRM Whenever a student gets something in, a confirmation email is sent with a reminder of what is still missing Regular Bi-weekly or Monthly communications with all Missing Documents Communications need to be regular and consistent

Counselor Decisioning Creating work-flows based on criteria for application review Automated request for more information Watching for any application that goes from Ready to be Reviewed back to Incomplete Decisioning in CRM or ERP Using the CRM for individual email Information is tracked Can see if a student opened or read the email

Congratulations, You’re Accepted! Next Steps Acceptance Letters Printed through CRM Not all CRMs have this function Decision Aligns with letter type. Double check against counselor error Transfer Credit Evaluations Can this be completely automated? Relying on credit evaluation in ERP or a manually inputted code Importing credit evaluations Yield Communications Deposited Students Can receive 50+ different communications from multiple departments, everyone thinking theirs is the most important Centralize and if possible create Accepted Student portal

Current Students Registering for classes in following semesters New Identifiers especially if the system is static Use of registration term or current semester Detail specific email and follow-ups via text Academic Probation Career Services Major specific career events Not part of general news letter Study Abroad Major specific study abroad opportunities Financial Aid Graduating Alumni Services Cancelations and changing semesters

Best Practices (Not making the news) Double if not triple identifiers when sending accepted letters and emails Accept code should match letter type Adding a “DO NOT SEND TO” line in all filters or list generators Add a delay before sending email or text communications Handling multiple applications from a single student How to handle Opt-Outs Check your data!

References Junco, R. & Mastrodicasa, J. (2007). Connecting to the Net.Generation: What higher education professionals need to know about today’s students. Washington, DC: NASPA ROCG (2010). Who’s your Daddy? Marketing to Different Generations. Retrieved from: http://rocg.com/?post=who%E2%80%99s-your-daddy-marketing-to-different-generations Page, R. & Williams, K. (2010). “Marketing to the Generations.” Journal of Behavioral Studies in Business. Retrieved online from: http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10575.pdf Howe, N. & Strauss, W. (1991). Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069. New York: William Morrow & Company. Howe, N & Strauss, W. (2007). “The Next 20 Years: How Customer and Workforce Attitudes Will Evolve.” Harvard Business Review. (July-August 2007). Retrieved from https://wiki.aalto.fi/download/attachments/44302349/Howe%20%282007%29%20The%20Next %2020%20Years%20- %20How%20Customer%20and%20Workforce%20Attitudes%20Will%20Evolve.pdf?api=v2