Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Universities

Louise Alderton, 09 April 2011

In my last post I introduced how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be a highly effective tool for education institutions. The xRM platform allows you to replace the ‘C’ in CRM with Student, Staff, Alumni or any other relevant word – to create an efficient system to manage any type of relationship. In this post I will dive in a little further to investigate how Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be an effective, complete solution for Universities.

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Some issues that most universities are facing today include declining student demand, increased competition, technology, declining resources from government, external quality assurance and multiple locations and campuses. A quality CRM system such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help in addressing all of such issues.

A tailored Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution for Universities includes the following functionality:

Student Management
Create a 360-degree view of each and every student. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM you can manage each student throughout their connection with the university from enrolment, course management, academic progress, organisation membership, right through to graduation and alumni communication.

Alumni Management
Alumni are very important connections and brand ambassadors for universities. Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows Universities to create long-lasting relationships with alumni through effective communication. Reporting tools and drill down capabilities allows universities to monitor alumni trends while marketing features enables you to create effective targeted communications.

Faculty and Staff Management
Take advantage of tools that help faculties and staff manage day-to-day activities and make more informed decisions. Administration costs can be controlled with efficiencies gained through automation and access to real time information. You can 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.

Now let’s have a look at some real-world examples of Microsoft Dynamics CRM in action in Universities…

Liberty University

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Liberty University (LU) is a Christian evangelical university that delivers a rigorous academic program to more than 64,000 students. The numerous business units and schools had created a patchwork of stand-alone applications, each hosting a small subset of student and fundraising data. With resources strained by rapidly increasing enrolment, LU deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a platform for new business applications. The solution integrates with LU’s existing enterprise resource planning system to facilitate central management of all student records and has enabled the central IT department to replace the numerous disparate applications and databases. As a result call centres have reduced training time by more than 50 per cent and increased productivity in making outbound calls by 17 per cent. They also noted a 0.8 per cent increase in student retention since deploying the solution. Staff across various departments have embraced the solution seeing the value of storing information they collect in a centrally managed repository.
Read the full case study

University of Gothenburg

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University of Gothenburg, one of the top ranked universities in Sweden, has educated a new generation of tech-savvy professionals. Traditionally, business schools in Sweden have not provided IT instruction because it was seen as a separate skill that should be taught to students studying informatics, not business. However, IT proficiency is becoming increasingly important for students studying business. To address this need the University of Gothenburg built a system around business software Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV 5.0, Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and Microsoft Office PerformancePoint™ Server 2007, to create a learning environment for its own students that extends to students at other universities. Some of the benefits they have noted so far is more relevant education for students, increased job prospects for graduates, an overall enhanced profile for the university, and more funding from external sources.
Read the full case study

University of Teesside

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Teesside University is an institution of approximately 25,000 students which has grown rapidly over the past 10 years and has a strong focus on business and research. Their Microsoft Dynamics CRM system has allowed them to establish strong relationships with businesses across the community. With 300 users, collaboration has become a key driver of the success of the system. Microsoft Dynamics CRM has allowed the university to effectively target employers, increase efficiency and reduce costs. Powerful business intelligence allows for comprehensive reporting and most importantly will help shape future strategy.
Watch the entire video

*1 Image from: http://www.payvand.com/news/09/jun/1250.html  
*2 Image from: http://www.twolia.com/blogs/zoboxrox/tag/liberty-university/
*3 Image from: http://www.gvc2.gu.se/geo/kvartar/quick/index.htm
*4 Image from: http://www.studyin-uk.com/e/unilist/teesside/