How Education Institutions Can Allocate Resources

Every student has unique needs, whether academic, financial, or emotional, and institutions must tailor their support to address these needs effectively. However, identifying these needs and allocating resources appropriately can be a complex task, especially when dealing with large student populations. Salesforce offers a powerful solution for educational institutions, enabling them to allocate resources and support to students in a data-driven and personalized manner. Here’s how Salesforce can help your institution meet each student where they are.

Creating Comprehensive Student Profiles

To effectively allocate resources, institutions need a 360-degree view of each student. Salesforce Education Cloud provides the tools to build comprehensive student profiles by consolidating data from various sources.

• Data Integration: Integrate Salesforce with existing systems such as Student Information Systems (SIS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), and financial aid platforms to import data on academic performance, attendance, financial aid status, and more. For example, a student’s grades, extracurricular activities, and financial aid details can be pulled into Salesforce, creating a complete picture of their academic and personal circumstances.
• Custom Fields and Objects: Create custom fields to track specific data points relevant to your institution’s support programs. For instance, fields for mental health check-ins, tutoring sessions, or career counseling can be added to each student’s profile. This detailed information allows staff to understand each student’s unique needs better.
• Real-Time Data Access: Salesforce ensures that student profiles are updated in real-time, giving advisors and support staff the most current information when making decisions about resource allocation. This immediacy is crucial for responding to issues as they arise.

Identifying Student Needs with Predictive Analytics

Once comprehensive profiles are established, the next step is identifying which students require additional support. Salesforce’s AI-powered tools, such as Einstein Analytics, play a crucial role in this process.

• Predictive Models: Develop predictive models that analyze data to identify students who may need extra support. For example, the system can flag students with declining grades, inconsistent attendance, or those struggling financially. These predictive insights allow institutions to intervene early, before small issues become significant problems.
• Custom Dashboards: Create dashboards that display at-risk students based on various criteria, such as academic performance, financial need, or engagement levels. For example, advisors can monitor a dashboard that highlights students whose GPA has dropped below a certain threshold, indicating they may benefit from tutoring or academic counseling.
• Resource Allocation Insights: Use analytics to determine the best use of institutional resources. For example, if data shows that a large percentage of students are struggling with time management, the institution might allocate more resources to workshops or peer mentoring programs.

Automating Support Processes

Personalized support requires timely intervention, but manually tracking each student’s needs can be overwhelming. Salesforce streamlines this process through automation.

• Salesforce Flow: Automate the assignment of resources based on specific triggers. For instance, if a student’s GPA drops below a certain level, Salesforce Flow can automatically schedule a meeting with an academic advisor, notify the student, and set a follow-up reminder.
• Case Management: Use Salesforce’s case management features to create and manage support cases for individual students. For example, a student who needs financial assistance can have a case created, which tracks all interactions, documents, and decisions related to their aid application.
• Automated Communication: Implement automated communication workflows to ensure students receive timely information about available resources. For example, a student flagged for financial stress could automatically receive information about scholarships, grants, or work-study programs.

Tailoring Interventions to Individual Needs

Once needs are identified and processes automated, Salesforce enables institutions to tailor their interventions to each student’s unique situation.

• Personalized Support Plans: Develop customized support plans within Salesforce for students who need extra help. For instance, a student struggling academically might receive a plan that includes regular tutoring sessions, study skills workshops, and bi-weekly check-ins with an academic advisor. These plans can be tracked and adjusted as the student progresses.
• Resource Matching: Match students with the resources that best fit their needs. Salesforce can help advisors find and recommend specific services based on the student’s profile. For example, if a student is facing mental health challenges, they could be matched with campus counseling services or external mental health resources.
• Tracking Outcomes: Monitor the effectiveness of interventions through Salesforce’s reporting tools. For example, if a student is enrolled in a tutoring program, advisors can track improvements in their grades and adjust the level of support accordingly.

Facilitating Collaboration Across Departments

Providing personalized support often requires collaboration between various departments, from academic advising to financial aid and mental health services. Salesforce fosters this collaboration by providing a unified platform.

• Chatter and Communities: Use Chatter, Salesforce’s collaboration tool, to facilitate communication between departments. For instance, if a student is flagged for academic and financial concerns, academic advisors, financial aid officers, and mental health counselors can collaborate in a Chatter group to coordinate their support efforts.
• Shared Dashboards: Create shared dashboards that allow different departments to view and contribute to student profiles and cases. This ensures that everyone involved in a student’s support plan has access to the most up-to-date information.
• Cross-Departmental Reports: Generate reports that span multiple departments to track overall resource allocation and student outcomes. For example, a report could analyze the impact of financial aid on student retention, combining data from the financial aid office and academic performance records.

Monitoring and Adjusting Resource Allocation

To ensure that resources are being used effectively, ongoing monitoring and adjustment are essential. Salesforce’s analytics and reporting tools make this process straightforward.

• Resource Utilization Reports: Track how resources are being utilized across the institution. For example, monitor how many students are using tutoring services, attending counseling sessions, or accessing financial aid. This data can help identify underutilized resources or areas where demand exceeds supply.
• Outcome Tracking: Measure the outcomes of your resource allocation strategies. For example, if a significant number of students improve their academic performance after receiving tutoring, this success can justify expanding the program.
• Feedback Mechanisms: Implement feedback loops where students can provide input on the resources they’ve used. Salesforce can capture this feedback and integrate it into reports, helping institutions adjust their strategies based on direct student input.

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.