SRM?CRM - Customer Services and Student Lifecycles Processes Require Tough Business Practice Changes

We have a number of Washington colleges using Customer Relationship Management Tools. They are:

Bellevue College - iModules
Cascadia College - Microsoft Dynamics
Columbia Basin College - AZORUS
Everett Community College - AZORUS
Lower Columia College - AZORUS
Peninsula College - AZORUS
Tacoma Community College - AZORUS

Each college is working hard to use their vendor-based product for increased productivity and increased student relationship information management, as-well-as increased retention and completion rates. But a number of college have found that adding a CRM also causes student services business practices and staffing to be rethought. This can be a massive amount of change all at once, that can seem overwhelming.

Sister colleges are collaborating by sharing experiences of both the installation and ongoing business model reconfigurations that the new software seems to beckon.

For many, it is an entire shift in thinking and some have wondered if the old pen and paper methods aren't easier and less costly...especially for small colleges.

But what happens when a system-wide license might be purchased? And at no additional cost to the colleges except for a one-time installation set-up fee. And how will this come into play with WA State facing a 5.2 deficit in state funding in a state that requires a balanced budget? And how does this push-and-pull work with a high need to serve students better (read more personally) and more efficiently, both in terms of costs and staff time? If it does force us to reconfigure, might that reconfiguration be around all new student-centered business practices that a system-wide CRM would require?

I found 2 articles (below) by Linda Briggs that speak to "Implementing a customer relationship management (CRM) solution can require "difficult or even painful behavioral challenges" for administrators in higher education, according to Nicole Engelbert, a lead analyst with research and analysis firm Datamonitor. "It means re-orienting yourself to your students. That can be tough, so you need to be ready for that.""

I hope that they are helpful to you as you investigate CRM.

10/2/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=68117

11/20/2008, http://www.campustechnology.com/article.aspx?aid=69332

Online Orientation - Types

Just finished attending two webinars with Landon Pirius at Academic Impressions about Online Orientation. I liked how Landon broke down the various technology levels into 5 access areas based on technology ability.

Orientation Types
Type, Online vs. Face to Face, Type of Interaction
Type I, Online Resources, Face to Face
Type II, Some Online, Text-based
Type III, Some Online, Limited
Type IV, Online High, Context
Type V, Online-virtual, Virtual

Here are links to the 2 ppts for the Online Orientation Webinar held November 4th and 6th at the SBCTC, Tacoma CC, Walla Walla CC, and Peninsula C. (Both have a creative commons license on them.) Both are very good reference materials for starting to plan for an ONLINE ORIENTATION program on your campus website. Both have multiple national examples to view.

http://www.academicimpressions.com/preconference/nov4orientation.pdf

http://www.academicimpressions.com/preconference/nov6orientation.pdf

Below are some colleges in our system with online orientation examples. Most are Level 2 but a couple are Level 3. There are a number of innovative ideas here...

Tacoma CC http://www.tacomacc.edu/currentstudents/newstudentorientation.aspx
Edmonds CC - Running Start http://www.edcc.edu/runningstart/orientation/
Edmonds CC – New Student http://es.edcc.edu/orientation/default.php
Grays Harbor http://www.ghc.edu/student_services/
Shoreline – Admissions Web Book - http://www.shoreline.edu/es/AdmissionsEBook.htm
North Seattle CC - http://www.northseattle.edu/enroll/orient/index.htm
Central Seattle CC – STAR Orientation http://www.seattlecentral.edu/star/
Columbia Basin C - Virtual Tour http://www.columbiabasin.edu/vtour/