Coming up in November and December we have a trio of webinars aimed at Further and Higher Education, looking at the ways in which academic institutions can harness, manage and make intelligent use of the vast quantities of data available to them, particularly in the areas of Student Attraction and Student Retention. Run in conjunction with our education partner Pythagoras, the sessions will primarily explore the role played by Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Office 365 and Social Listening in ensuring that your prospective and current students are given best opportunities for success on their journey with your institution.
The sessions are as follows:
- Friday 13th November – Student Attraction
- Friday 20th November – Student Retention
- Thursday 3rd December - Apprentices and Work Placements
For more information from Pythagoras on each of these sessions, and to register for a webinar, please see below.
Student Attraction
Friday 13th November
Students are no longer just students anymore to Higher Education institutions, they are customers, each of them looking to make one of the biggest investments of their lives and something that will live with them for years and years to come. It is therefore no longer acceptable for institutions to send generic communications to prospects regardless to the type of study they are pursuing, whether it be an NVQ, a Bachelor’s degree or an apprenticeship. Institutions need to tailor their engagement across a number of channels through targeted nurtured messaging, gaining an understanding of those student’s needs and showcasing why that student should select their course over others.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Social Listening and Office 365 can help Higher Education Institutions achieve this by having a single view of each prospect student. Through CRM, Institutions can create and track tailored email campaigns to inspire prospects and encourage them to attend open days; match prospects to courses based on skillset and predicted grades; engage over social media, and automatically send out offer letters to the highest calibre of students reducing administration.
To find out more about how Dynamics CRM and the Office 365 stack can aid student attraction, retention and increase engagement, register for our webinar on Friday 13th November by emailing Matt Clements.
Student Retention
Friday 20th November
Student welfare is an integral part of Higher Education and ultimately determines whether or not a student is going to see out their studies or Apprenticeship to the end. When a student is unhappy, it could be for any number of reasons. It could be that they’ve fallen out with their housemates, their course isn’t what they thought it would be, they are struggling financially, or something as simple as feeling a little homesick. The first you may hear about it is when you get a notification informing you that they have dropped out and you have lost all opportunity to help them, when actually the student could have been venting these frustrations across social media all along.
Using a combination of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Social Listening and Office 365, Higher and Further Education Institutions have a single view of each individual student. Through this institutions are able to create, send and track tailored communication, and use predictive analytics to monitor progress, student satisfaction and course progress across a number of channels to ensure retention of students is maintained at a maximum. And that is only lightly touching the surface of available insight!
To find out more about how Dynamics CRM and the Office 365 stack can aid student attraction, retention and increase engagement, register for our webinar on Friday 20th November by emailing Matt Clements.
Apprenticeships and Work Placements
Thursday 3rd December
In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron made a pledge to make Apprenticeships “the new norm for school leavers” who decide against going to University in search of a different route into their desired careers. Mr Cameron highlighted that work based training should “sit at the heart of rebuilding the British economy”, and all young people who wish to pursue an Apprenticeship, should have a role available to them. Apprentices, it has been said, could add up to £3.4 billion a year in economic growth.
For Further Education Institutions, they can empower their staff and students through an improved drive for better engagement with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and tackle head on their ability to stay motivated and adapt to new audience journeys. Through CRM Online, institutions can enjoy a cleaner, faster, more intuitive interface that can not only enable engagement across a variety of channels, but also across a number of devices while on the move. Excellent customer service speaks volumes and prospects are therefore far more likely to commit to something that makes them feel like they’re getting a tailored, personal experience, than something that makes no effort to connect.
To find out more about how Dynamics CRM and the Office 365 stack can aid student attraction, retention and increase engagement, register for our webinar on Thursday 3rd December by emailing Matt Clements.