In the modern educational landscape, providing student support services is vital for fostering student success. From academic advising to mental health counseling, institutions must ensure that each student receives timely and effective care. Managing these services across various departments and platforms can be challenging, but Salesforce offers a comprehensive solution to streamline and enhance student support services. This guide delves into the specific steps and features educational institutions can leverage within Salesforce to achieve seamless student care.

Setting Up Salesforce Education Cloud

Salesforce Education Cloud is a tailored CRM solution designed specifically for educational institutions. To begin integrating student support services:

• Purchase and Configure Education Cloud: Ensure your institution has access to Education Cloud, which includes tools like Student Success, Admissions, and Alumni Management.
• Define User Roles and Permissions: Set up distinct roles for academic advisors, counselors, financial aid officers, IT staff, and administrators to control access to sensitive information.

Centralizing Student Information

A centralized database is crucial for effective student support. Here’s how to achieve it with Salesforce:

• Data Import and Integration:
  • Data Loader: Use Salesforce Data Loader to import existing student data from various systems (e.g., LMS, SIS).
  • APIs and Integration Tools: Utilize Salesforce APIs or integration tools like MuleSoft to synchronize data in real-time from disparate systems.
• Custom Objects and Fields:
  • Student Profiles: Customize student records to include fields for academic history, counseling notes, health information, and engagement metrics.
  • Related Records: Link related objects such as Advising Sessions, Counseling Appointments, and Financial Aid Applications to each student profile.
• Salesforce Education Cloud Features:
  • Identity and Access Management: Ensure single sign-on (SSO) for seamless access across platforms.
  • Canvas Integration: Integrate with learning management systems (e.g., Canvas, Blackboard) to pull academic data directly into Salesforce.

Automating Communication and Follow-Ups

Effective communication is key to proactive student support. Salesforce facilitates this through:

• Salesforce Flow and Process Builder:
  • Automated Reminders: Create flows that automatically send reminders for upcoming advising appointments or deadlines. For example, a flow can trigger an email reminder 48 hours before a scheduled counseling session.
  • Missed Appointment Follow-Ups: Set up processes to send automated follow-up emails or SMS messages if a student misses an appointment, prompting them to reschedule.
• Marketing Cloud for Personalized Campaigns:
  • Targeted Messaging: Use Marketing Cloud to design and deploy personalized email and SMS campaigns. For instance, send tailored messages to students approaching financial aid deadlines or those identified as at-risk based on their academic performance.
• Einstein Activity Capture:
  • Smart Communication: Utilize Einstein to track student interactions and automatically log emails and meetings, ensuring no communication slips through the cracks.

Tailored Interventions with Predictive Analytics

Leveraging Salesforce’s AI capabilities can transform reactive support into proactive care:

• Einstein Analytics:
  • Predictive Models: Develop predictive models to identify students at risk of academic probation or dropout by analyzing indicators like GPA trends, attendance records, and participation in extracurricular activities.
  • Custom Dashboards: Create dashboards that display real-time predictions and trends, enabling advisors to prioritize interventions effectively.
• Personalized Support Plans:
  • Automated Task Assignments: When a student is flagged by Einstein Analytics, automatically assign tasks to relevant staff members, such as scheduling a meeting with an academic advisor or referring them to mental health services.
  • Dynamic Support Recommendations: Use AI-driven insights to suggest personalized resources, such as tutoring sessions for students struggling in specific subjects or workshops for time management skills.

Facilitating Seamless Collaboration Across Departments

Collaboration is essential for holistic student support. Salesforce provides several tools to enhance interdepartmental communication:

• Chatter:
  • Private Groups: Create Chatter groups for different support teams (e.g., Academic Advising, Mental Health Services) to share updates and collaborate on student cases.
  • Direct Messaging: Enable direct messaging between staff members to quickly address student needs.
• Shared Dashboards and Reports:
  • Unified View: Develop dashboards that aggregate data from multiple departments, providing a 360-degree view of each student’s status and needs.
  • Collaborative Reporting: Allow different departments to contribute to shared reports, ensuring all relevant information is considered in support strategies.
• Salesforce Communities:
  • Internal Communities: Set up internal communities where staff from various departments can access and update student information, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Orchid Connect is a woman-owned Salesforce implementation firm with 30 years of experience serving associations, non-profits and small/medium businesses. We specialize in strategic and implementation services, go-to-market support, and ongoing support. To learn more, reach us at reachout@orchidconnect.com.