It’s a Higher Ed Heatwave

You’ve heard us talk about this a lot, but it’s still worth saying again. Before you hit the beach, make sure your CRM is ready to ride the wave of the new cycle by completing cycle prep. Find everything you need to do so, including comprehensive action item lists, in our previous posts:

• Spark451’s Guide to Slate Cycle Prep
• Essential Cycle Prep for All CRMs

Rules, segments, data imports, journeys, user permissions… there are a number of tools that leverage automation and now is an excellent time to review them.

• Staff Assignments: If you’ve had any staff turnover, check staff assignments to ensure no former teammates are still active.
• Security: Double check that user permissions reflect current staff responsibilities.

Do you have any queries, segments, reports, or dashboards that reference specific years or terms that you no longer need? Don’t let them become outdated and ruin your summer vibes.

It’s time to make those queries evergreen! Contact us to learn how.

• Slate Users: Do you find yourself building the same exports and filters, query after query? If so, you should build a Query Library.
• Element451 Users: Don’t lose the segmentation work you’ve done! Instead of rebuilding, repurpose existing segments and implement intuitive naming conventions so they’re easily identifiable. Want more tips? Reach out!

Another area that needs attention is your forms! Make sure they don’t include past terms or mention any offerings that are no longer available. Some big “gotchas” to watch out for include:

• Outdated Fields: Check for old term options and retired programs.
• Email Confirmations and Notifications: Be sure these are relevant and useful.
• Remove, Archive, or Hide Outdated Forms: From both your database and landing pages.

Also, test your conditional logic and be sure to confirm with stakeholders that instructions are clear.

What’s your institution’s retention policy? Even if you don’t have one built yet, now is a good time to explore the power of clearing old information from your database. In addition to helping you stay organized and keeping your system clear of old data, retention policies help ensure you remain in compliance by adhering to student information policies.

⚠️ Retention policies can be scary… what if you delete information by accident?! Need help? Contact us!

Make sure your system is ready for the annual Common App updates. Unless your team has made changes to their member questions, these annual updates will likely be quite small (shifts to field names and prompts, a new standard question or two), but you’ll still want to be ready!

• Slate Preparation: Get ready for your source format to be automatically updated.
• Element451 Preparation: Common App updates are usually integrated automatically. Still, it’s important to confirm that your institution is ready for the cycle ahead.

Here are some action items:

1. Run a test application through the Common App to ensure data flows correctly into your CRM.
2. Validate that new or changed fields are captured and stored properly.
3. Brief your admissions staff on what’s changed in the Common App and how it may affect application review or communications.
4. Monitor for any data sync issues or unexpected behavior in your CRM.

Try not to sweat too much over mistakes! If needed, our team can help you troubleshoot Common App imports.

Duplicates are like mosquitoes at a BBQ — annoying and everywhere. Ideally, your team should be on top of managing these all year long, but life happens and they can get out of hand. Use the summer to swat them back in line!

Not sure what the big deal is? Check out our recent post: The Problem With Duplicate Records.

Welcome back from Charlotte and Las Vegas! It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you return from a conference, so we suggest starting with the following:

• Look over your notes and commit to memory the new things you learned.
• Prioritize which great ideas should be implemented first.
• Examine your processes and ask yourself: What will make the biggest impact?

Slate Summit

The things you learned at the Summit won’t stay in Vegas! Some of the exciting topics included:

• Slate AI in Batch Acquire: This enables quicker document analysis and insights.
• Dashboard Portals: Place custom portal content on person records.
• AI Interviews: Conversational interviews hosted by customizable avatars.
• Query by Population: Narrow queries by population while selecting a base.
• Deliver Send With Edits: Modify messages in the “Send Message” stage.

All this AI talk might have you wondering: What’s the big push? Well, AI is more than just being online 24/7. AI offers a safe and embarrassment-free space for students to ask questions they might otherwise not. Students are already using AI a ton in their everyday lives, so why not expand that functionality for them to better connect with your institution?

Engage Summit

Element451 released some amazing new AI functionality this year to accomplish just that:

• Goal-Oriented Automation and Proactive Outreach: Assign AI a task and let it initiate contact with students.
• Inbound Calls: AI can receive incoming calls using assigned phone numbers. Voice and knowledge can be configured.
• Outbound Calls: AI can initiate phone calls to students, so think about inviting them to events, sharing program updates, and following up on applications.