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Ball State Seeks Improved Student Retention with CRM

By Mike Hohenbrink
02/07/12

Ball State University is seeking to boost retention with the adoption of a constituent relationship management (CRM) platform and fundraising suite.

The Muncie, IN-based school with enrollment of nearly 22,000 has selected Campus Management as a vendor and will utilize the company's Talisma CRM and Talisma Fundraising as in an effort to improve both student retention and alumni relations.

Retention efforts will be addressed first as the new software is adopted. Improved communication is a primary goal with the CRM, which permits communication between the school's administration including 950 faculty members and staff and the entire student body through multiple media formats such as SMS text messaging, chat and email.

In addition, the CRM allows for keeping detailed records about all types of interactions between students and staff. This information can then be evaluated to determine what strategies are most effective for increasing student retention. If email reminders work better than in-person contacts, such data can be used to develop more appropriate retention strategies.

Later, the school will implement the fundraising module, which allows the school to centrally administer a single donor and alumni management system. The fundraising suite will be integrated into the school's CRM platform to allow for sharing information as students transition into alumni.

The integration will allow creation of targeted marketing campaigns with the ability to assess the effectiveness of individual marketing steps.

"The manner in which we communicate with our key constituents is paramount to the continued success of Ball State University; this includes applicants, students and alumni. By taking a holistic approach to communications, we are confident that Ball State graduates will continue to maintain strong ties with the university, and we place a premium on that," said Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora. "We view this program as a way to extend and enhance our relationships with alumni, and help them stay engaged with us."

Campus Management currently services more than 1,700 schools, businesses, and other institutions. More information about Campus Management is available at campusmanagement.com.