Education Cloud is a specialized data model built on the Salesforce platform designed to support the entire learning experience and meet the needs of various stakeholders within educational institutions. It provides a 360-degree view of prospects and students, ensuring institutions can serve them effectively.

Key Components of Education Cloud

1. Salesforce Platform:
   • Security, Flexibility, and Customization: Education Cloud is built on the Salesforce platform, making it secure, flexible, and customizable. It can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any educational institution.
2. Education Cloud Data Model:
   • Comprehensive Support: The data model supports the entire learner experience, from managing applications and scheduling to handling courses and facilities. It is designed for a wide range of users, including admissions officers, directors, learners, recruiters, and Salesforce admins.
3. Education Cloud Licenses:
   • Types of Licenses:
     • Education Cloud Objects and Components: Comprehensive access for staff responsible for recruiting, admissions, and student success.
     • Education Cloud Reviewer: Access for users who need to review applications.
     • Education Cloud for Experience Cloud User: Access for Experience Cloud users interacting with the institution.
   • License Management: Users can view and manage licenses within the Salesforce Setup, under Company Information. For additional licenses, institutions should contact their Salesforce account executive.

Reimagined Education Cloud: Enhancing Learner Relationships

In response to global uncertainties and education-specific challenges, Salesforce has reimagined Education Cloud to help institutions improve enrollment, retention, and deliver personalized experiences.

1. New Features in Education Cloud:
   • Data Foundation: Built for current and next-generation learning models to drive optimal learner outcomes.
   • Capability Model: Enables common services, such as appointment scheduling and application forms, to be used across the institution.
   • Reimagined Recruitment and Admissions App: Offers a modern, personalized experience for prospective students, recruiters, and admissions staff.
2. Collaboration and Innovation:
   • Cross-Industry Capabilities: Education Cloud integrates capabilities like virtual appointments, case management, and program management, developed in collaboration with other Salesforce industry teams such as Healthcare and Public Sector.
3. New Features and Enhancements in Spring ’24 Release:
   • Smart Prospecting for Recruiters: Segment and assign prospects, enabling personalized engagement from the first interaction.
   • Transformed Applicant Experience: Allows easy application to multiple programs, tracking of application statuses, and interaction with admissions teams.
   • Expanded Appointment Scheduling: Supports virtual meetings with recruiters and admissions interviews using built-in video functionality.
   • Streamlined Admissions Workflow: Simplifies checklisting, reviews, document management, and decision workflows.
   • Care Plans for Students: Provides actionable steps for a smooth onboarding experience and reduces summer melt.
4. Scalable and Enterprise-Grade Industry Cloud:
   • Core Platform Integration: Innovations are delivered within the core platform without the need for separate managed package installations.

Salesforce CRM: Enhancing Efficiency and Engagement in Education

Salesforce CRM helps educational institutions manage relationships more efficiently, leading to enhanced student recruitment, enrollment, and alumni management. It offers significant returns on investment and supports long-term growth.

1. Enhanced Student Recruitment:
   • Data Consolidation: CRM consolidates data to create effective student recruitment campaigns.
   • Marketing Automation: Ready-made email templates and automated triggers improve recruitment efficiency.
   • AI-Powered Tools: Analyzes campaign performance and provides recommendations for improvement.
2. Improved Student Enrollment:
   • Automated Enrollment Workflow: Streamlines application processing, verification, and payment processing.
   • Centralized Communication: Allows student service reps to manage applicant complaints and issues through a unified CRM console.
   • Case Study: George Mason University improved student support and satisfaction by implementing Salesforce, consolidating multiple service centers into one.
3. Optimized Alumni Management:
   • Centralized Database: Helps manage alumni data and personalize communication strategies.
   • Engagement Tracking: Allows institutions to measure and improve alumni engagement campaigns.
   • Case Study: Westmont College increased donations significantly by improving alumni relationship management through Salesforce.
4. Intelligent Degree Planning: This roadmap-style feature tracks individual students’ progress toward their degrees, ensuring they stay on track.
5. Skills Generator: Designed to assist teachers in creating valuable courses, this tool analyzes program and course information to identify market-relevant skills that students will gain. It then generates a list that can be added to coursework descriptions, making it easy for advisors and students to see which classes to take for specific skills and how to highlight those skills on resumes.
6. Intelligent Question Generator: Using AI to create more incisive student questionnaires for scenarios like career services, study abroad guides, and academic advising.

Features Coming in October

• Pathway Templates: Similar to Intelligent Degree Planning, this feature allows academic advisors to create course guides for students based on their degree and time to graduate.
• Einstein Mentorship Summaries: Uses AI to help schools pair students with mentors.
• Einstein Copilot Recruitment & Admissions Actions: An AI chat assistant that helps school staff field questions from prospective students. This feature is powered by previous student interactions, knowledge articles, events, and other institutional data.
• Data Cloud for Education: An education-specific platform that integrates with Education Cloud to serve as a repository for an institution’s entire data estate. By removing data silos, organizations can gain comprehensive insights and prepare their data for use by AI models.

Salesforce CRM offers numerous benefits for educational institutions, from improving student recruitment and enrollment to optimizing alumni management. However, successful adoption requires navigating challenges such as product selection and integration. Certified Salesforce consultants with expertise in education can help institutions overcome these challenges and fully leverage Salesforce’s capabilities to achieve their goals.