Introduction
Recruitment and retention of students are crucial for all universities, as these practices help to keep a constant inflow of money that supports everyday operations. Many universities have already developed effective recruitment and retention practices; however, some organizations fail to keep track of their success. It is crucial to collect data throughout the year to minimize student withdrawal and ensure an adequate inflow of new students. The present paper provides calendars that help to optimize recruitment and retention practices. Calendar 1 provides dates and data that need to be collected to ensure that the admissions office is on track to meet projections throughout the cycle. The second calendar provides specific dates and data points to implement an adequate retention plan. The final section of the present paper includes a discussion of the differences between SIS and CRM. The report concludes that SIS can be replaced with CRM to increase the functionality of the data management system.
Calendar 1: Recruitment Plan
- August 1-16:
- Collecting data from new entrants in the university to understand the average requirements for entry this year;
- Collecting data about the reasons the new students selected the university.
- August 17-31:
- Collecting data concerning the most effective marketing strategies among last year students to plan the marketing campaign for the current year;
- Collecting data about the most effective marketing channels used during the previous year to determine the most effective channels for advertising the university.
- November 15-30:
- Collecting data about the number of students intending to go to the university next year;
- Collecting data about the number of students that may require with visas;
- Collecting information on whether the potential enrollees have any questions;
- Replying to any potential questions.
- March 15-31:
- Collecting data about the number of students intending to go to the university next year;
- Collecting data about the number of students that may require with visas;
- Collecting information on whether the potential enrollees have any questions.
- Replying to any potential questions.
- June 1-30:
- Collecting data on the number of applications to the university;
- Collecting data on the number of international students.
- July 1-31:
- Collecting data on the average academic achievement of new applicants to revise the recruitment requirements;
- Selecting the best participants.
Calendar 2: Retention Plan
- August 1-7:
- Collection of data concerning the background of all students, with special attention to financial, family, social, and health problems;
- Collection of information on students who do not come for orientation may not be interested in education at the institution.
- August 8-15:
- Gathering information on the repetition of courses to understand what classes are most likely to cause withdrawal;
- Collection of information concerning the current combination of courses selected by students to identify the difficult combination of courses that may lead to withdrawal from the university.
- August 16-23:
- Collection of data about returning stop-ups with an emphasis on the factors that affected their withdrawal to prevent the situation from reoccurrence;
- Collecting information about major changes.
- September 15-22:
- Collection of data concerning ongoing student satisfaction;
- Current GPA changes;
- Gathering of information concerning academic warnings;
- Collection of data on missed classes and assignments.
- November 1-7:
- Collection of data concerning ongoing student satisfaction;
- Gathering of information concerning academic warnings;
- Current GPA changes;
- Collection of data on missed classes and assignments.
- December 26-31
- Collection of data concerning the potential problem with qualification for financial aid due to low academic achievement;
- Collection of data on students who have not paid and are not going to pay for the next semester.
- February 15-22:
- Collection of data concerning student satisfaction with the first semester;
- GPA changes after the first semester.
- Gathering information on the repetition of courses to understand what classes are most likely to cause withdrawal;
- Collection of information concerning the current combination of courses selected by students to identify a difficult combination of courses that may lead to withdrawal from the university.
- April 1-7:
- Collection of data concerning ongoing student satisfaction;
- Current GPA changes;
- Collection of data on missed classes and assignments.
- May 15-22:
- Collection of data concerning ongoing student satisfaction;
- Current GPA changes;
- Collection of data on missed classes and assignments.
- June 22-28:
- Collection of data concerning satisfaction with the second semester;
- Collection of data concerning the potential problem with qualification for financial aid due to low academic achievement;
- Collection of data on students who have not paid and are not going to pay for the next semester;
- Collection of data concerning unsubmitted applications for graduation.
Differences between SIS and CRM
Integrating a data management system is becoming increasingly important for all types of organizations. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is one of the most frequently used data management systems. CRMs are used by businesses to retain or acquire new customers. CRMs gather data from multiple sources, storing detailed information on purchase history, purchasing habits, and personal information. CRMs also allow easy communication with customers, managers, and suppliers, which makes it easier to provide high-quality, timely services tailored for the individual needs of customers (Gupta, 2018). The central benefits of CRMs are having all data about customers in one place, keeping track of all issues related to the customer, identifying sales opportunities, and managing marketing campaigns. Thus, while CRM is essentially a database, it enables outward and inward communication for building relationships with customers.
Education institutions usually implement a data management system tailored specifically for schools, colleges, and universities called Student Information Systems (SIS). According to Edwards (2020), an SIS is “a web-based platform that helps schools and colleges take data online for easier management and better clarity” (para. 2). Essentially, an SIS is a database available from a website that makes information about tests, attendance, and appraisal performance available for different stakeholders. These stakeholders usually include teachers, students, parents, and administrative staff. SIS can be used by one institution or unite several institutions depending on the scope and purpose. The central benefit of an SIS is that it unites all the information in one place and makes it available from any location. The central purpose of an SIS is enabling self-service for parents and students who want to keep track of all information about their studies to track success.
There are several essential differences between CRM and SIS, as can be seen from the descriptions. The central difference between the systems is the central motive of creating the database. In the case of SIS, the system is aimed inward, and the central purpose is to share information with all stakeholders. CRM, however, is aimed outward as the primary purpose of the system is to use the information to create functional relationships with customers. As a result of the differences in purpose, the systems measure different metrics. SIS measures school-related metrics, such as university rankings. CRM is designed to measure marketing return on investments, recruitment results, and retention, as such systems help to care for both internal and external customers. Another crucial difference between SIS and CRM is the messaging systems. SIS uses data and record-specific communication, while CRMs provide brand-specific communication. Finally, CRM collects information on stakeholder activity, while SIS does not track such activity. In summary, while both systems are databases, they are created for different purposes, which affects their functionality.
Today, many universities shift from SIS to CRM, as the latter provides better opportunities to manage stakeholders. One of the central benefits of such a shift is that a CRM enables schools and universities to improve their stakeholder management. For instance, a well-designed CRM can enhance retention and recruitment practices. Data from a SIS can be transferred to a CRM without any losses, which makes the transition from one system to another smooth. Therefore, educational institutions should consider switching to a CRM to manage the data.
Conclusion
Keeping track of data is crucial for all types of organizations, including educational institutions. Having calendars that outline the data that needs to be collected to optimize recruitment and retention helps to plan all the activities. While the functionality of CRM and SIS systems is similar, there are some differences that make CRM systems preferable for managing the retention and recruitment of students.
References
Edwards, L. (2020). What is a Student Information System and How Does it Work? Web.
Gupta, P. K. (2018). Importance of CRM in Indian banking system-A contemporary insight. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research (IJEMR), 8(2), 124-127.