What Microsoft Dynamics CRM For Education Has To Offer

Mark Smith, 19 March 2011

In this post I will continue my discussion regarding Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Education. I’ll be focusing on the key features and what it has to offer. Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Education is a complete management solution that provides the invaluable capability to attain a 360-degree view of a school, polytechnic, or university. It has the necessary tools to create and maintain a clear picture of the information educators and administrators need, may it be student management, faculty recruitment and management, administration, alumni and donor manager, or outreach and correspondence.

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Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Education key features include:

Alumni and Donor Management – Gives you the tools that your institution needs for a more effective fundraising and development. You can gain insights about your donors to help you boost contributions and build long-lasting relationships.

• Provide a complete view of individual donors, including past interactions with your institution.
• Identify top alumni donors to better target communications to them.
• Automate communications to key donors and the community to strengthen these vital connections.
• Analyze fundraising campaigns and identify trends to further refine your efforts and help increase contributions. 
 

General Administration – Helps you control administrative cost which is an enormous challenge for educational institutions. It makes that challenge easier with efficiencies gained through automation and access to real-time information.

• Use built-in tools to automate processes for workflows and for collaboration with other institutions.
• Tailor Microsoft Dynamics CRM for your needs with intuitive, Web-based design tools to modify forms, data fields, and relationships.
• Get in-depth views of various operations including transportation, food services, and asset management, and use the information to increase your efficiency.
• Increase productivity with a familiar interface that works like other Microsoft productivity software, so little training is required and adoption is quick.
• Create sophisticated reports on your organization’s performance—without the need for IT assistance.  

Communication - Communications are critical to every educational institution, but with today’s lean budgets and limited resources, it can be difficult to keep your key audiences informed. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, however, your communications can help you build stronger relationships with your community.

• Automatically distribute communications to parents and the community to increase awareness of key events and achievements.
• Help reduce the need for extensive e-mail communications between distance-learning students and teachers through a quick consolidation of information.
• Have student records—such as attendance, curriculum, discipline, and extracurricular activities—readily at hand so you can respond quickly when parents or others contact you. 
 

Student Information Systems - Gain a comprehensive view of each student and streamline the management of records and processes with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Reduce your administrative workload and get insights into school performance to help you serve students better.

• Centralize the management of student records such as attendance, curriculum, discipline, and extracurricular activities to provide a complete view of every student.
• Take advantage of real-time visibility into student data and classroom or school performance to proactively address potential issues before they become problems.
• Automate processes and communications to reduce administrative tasks and, at the same time, help ensure that student privacy is protected.  

Faculty and Staff Management - Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a fast, flexible, and affordable solution that helps you achieve higher levels of efficiency with tools that can help you, your faculty, and your staff manage day-to-day activities and make more informed decisions.

• Eliminate paper processes for managing the teacher certification process and other career-related activities.
• Provide faculty, administrators, and staff with mobile access to take advantage of tools and information at any time, from almost anywhere, with advanced data synchronization and mobility features.
• Simplify the management of substitute teachers and staff with easy, visual scheduling and a centralized view of calendars and resources.  

Recruiting and Retention - Whether you want to attract and retain outstanding educators or bring more students to your school, college, or university, Microsoft Dynamics CRM makes it easier to target your audience, track responses, and analyze results, as well as monitor performance.

• Take advantage of the out-of-the-box capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics CRM to prospect for and recruit qualified educators and students.
• Track event attendance and measure the success of marketing or informational campaigns within Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
• Give administrators the ability to evaluate school, department, or faculty performance with real-time information and trending analysis.  

Get in the game now! Contact us now to learn more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Education and how we can help you design it to fit your needs.

* Image from http://crm.dynamics.com