Increasing Student Retention using Higher Education CRM

Increasing Student Retention using Higher Education CRM

The student attrition problem has become a major concern for both public and private universities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), about 59% of the first-time and full-time students seeking admission in four-year courses finished in 6 years. The graduation rate of females was 61%, only marginally higher than the 56% for males. Raising graduation rates has become a critical issue to be address to insure both student and institutional success.

Many institutions are referring to student data that include: attendance, grade, assignment completion, class participation etc. To help staffs comprehend the pitfalls and intervene early using technology like early warning alert system that is available in many higher education CRM systems.

Many colleges and institutions are experiencing the significance of utilizing technology to improve student experience rather than just managing it to address the gaps. Campus staffs are depending heavily on comprehensive data of each student that is available through 360 degree view feature available in higher ed CRMs to personalize their communication and pay special attention to students who are “at-risk”.

Lifecycle CRM (Constituent Relationship Management) systems can help. They enable schools to connect with their students during their entire lifecycle, from prospects to enrolled students to alumni. The Enrollment module in these systems streamlines the process of nurturing prospects and converting them into enrollments. The Student Success module provides tools to engage with enrolled students and provide them with the resources they need to successfully complete their program.
The process of maximizing the success of enrolled students can be summarized as the “Three I’s”:

1. Identify:
   At-risk students can be identified by using a variety of general and college-specific parameters: absenteeism, low grades, behavior changes as observed by professors, etc. A student lifecycle CRM can deliver a ‘data analytics-driven’ approach to highlight these early warning signals, drawing from a number of systems and data sources within the institution. ‘Red flags’ are assigned to students who are identified as highly at risk of failure, allowing the college to take timely corrective measures.
   
2. Intervene:
   Effective intervention with at-risk students can increase course completion rates, retention, academic performance, and overall student success. A CRM can help create personalized intervention strategies for individual students. Outcomes from these interventions can be tracked and documented for use with other students in similar situations. And timeliness is important – the earlier the intervention, the greater the chance of success.
   
3. Improve:
   Once individual interventions are complete, it is important for the college to use the learnings from them to improve their processes. CRM systems can provide tools that allow the institution to increase the accuracy of at-risk indicators by integrating the learnings of previous interventions.

By following the above “Three I’s”, schools can help maximize the success of their students, and ultimately of the school itself.
Source: ProRetention - A Student Lifecycle CRM.

		Binyam Zewde Alemayehu Lecturer, Ethiopia
	Good New Insight on Higher Education CRM Great article, great strategy. We also suffering from students’ high attrition rate and the way we are handling the prob...