2 – CRM Implementation Update (5/22/2019)

We’re back with another update on the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool currently being implemented across the district. Here’s a high-level breakdown of some key informational points this month:

TIMELINES:

There are many phases of implementation involved in establishing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. These phases include initial discovery, current business process analysis, mapping out what the solution will look like, building that vision, training users, and implementing continuous improvements.

It’s a detailed, and complicated process – one that’s iterative so that some phases may progress faster than anticipated, and others slower. For example, a small group that has an already well-defined and documented business process might move faster through the implementation steps. Larger groups with less defined business processes will more than likely take a bit longer.

Here are the various phases of the CRM implementation and rough timelines for the entire process:

  • Phase I: Inquiry to Application (Recruitment, Admission and Marketing) – October 2018-September 2019
  • Phase II: Enrollment Funnel and Matriculation – November 2018-February 2020
  • Phase III: Counseling and Retention – September 2019-May 2020
  • Phase IV: Grant/Categorical Programs – October 2019-June 2020
  • Phase V: Faculty, Early Alert and Canvas – November 2019-March 2021
  • Phase VI: Workforce Development – March 2020-September 2020
  • Phase VII: Alumni Relations – June 2020-December 2020

 

STAFFING:

Implementing and sustaining a system like a CRM requires additional staffing within the ITS department.  In January 2019, the Board of Trustees approved four new ITS positions. Here’s a little bit about the positions, what they’ll do in relation to the CRM and where we’re at in the hiring process.

  • Director of the CRM:  This position will oversee the technical operations and staff of the CRM. This person will work directly with college leaders to conduct training and visioning sessions in the sustainability and optimization of the CRM.
    • Search Update: This position is Open Until Filled and the search committee has begun reviewing the initial batch of applications. While this position is being staffed, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Daman Grewal is filling in as the CRM Technical Lead as he has extensive CRM experience from his previous institutions. We expect to have someone on board by August.
  • Systems Administrator: This position configures the CRM to meet the needs of the district and helps to manage user accounts by provisioning licenses and setting up security settings and workflows.
    • Search Update: This search is complete with the successful candidate set to begin at the beginning of June. Steven Yee was selected for this position and has served as a Salesforce Administrator at a number of companies prior to joining the district.
  • Senior Programmer II (Integration): This position will serve as the main integration specialist between the CRM and other systems such as Banner, Canvas and Degree Works to ensure all of the systems are sharing information appropriately. This position will also serve as the Data Warehouse specialist to ensure the PRIE offices have the data needed to build reports.
    • Search Update: Suneetha Pasumarthi made a successful lateral transfer within ITS, transitioning from working with the Financial Aid module in Banner into this role.
  • Senior Programmer I (Salesforce): This position is the main developer within Salesforce and will program and develop applications within the Salesforce platform. This position will be the lead in bringing on applications like a texting and document management solution within Salesforce.
    • Search Update: This position is currently posted and Open Until Filled.

CCCApply

ITS will be working with college staff over the summer to reconfigure CCCApply to allow for students to choose a Meta Major and Program of Study from the time of application. This will allow for more accurate “student intent” information to be populated into the CRM and Degree Works as counselors and staff work with students on their educational plans.  The reconfiguration is expected to be completed over the summer.

SCHEDULING IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS:

Our implementation partners (Enrollment RX and ApexIT) are coordinating their schedules as various components of their CRM build out are dependent on each other. We will plan on having them onsite concurrently over the months of June and July as they build out a more detailed project schedule for the implementation. In the meantime, Enrollment RX will begin working with the International Student Programs staff on upgrading their current Salesforce instance in anticipation of district-wide project.

1 – CRM Implementation Update (5/6/2019)

As many of you know, SMCCCD, will be adopting a Constituent Relationship Management system (CRM) over the next few years. The CRM will transform the way we interact with students and how students interact with the College. From managing student records and monitoring progress to educational goals, to class registration and marketing outreach, the CRM will allow us to streamline systems that today can be cumbersome and slow.

The focus of the CRM implementation is to architect a suite of well-integrated solutions that will empower our students and campus community to support student success at scale. Teams from across all three colleges, headed by District leadership, have worked diligently over the last two years to select vendors that will guide us through this process.

Now that vendors have been selected, we’ll be providing monthly updates to keep the campus community informed about the CRM implementation. Here are this month’s updates:

  • Salesforce, Enrollment Rx, and ApexIT are the vendors selected to guide us through the CRM implementation.
  • Salesforce is the cloud-based platform that will host our CRM and provide the foundation for all the solutions being created. The CRM will complement Banner, working in tandem with Banner to pull data and make it more accessible and user-friendly.
  • Enrollment Rx (built on the Salesforce platform) is the vendor that will be building several fundamental parts of the CRM. Some of the first solutions Enrollment Rx is helping us to create include:

o   Request for information forms, which will allow students inquiring at the College to enter in their contact information and be automatically messaged information to encourage them to apply to the college.

o   Tour request forms, which will allow prospective students and groups to sign up for tours with the ultimate goal of getting the students to complete the admissions application.

o   A new admissions application to complement the current CCCApply application.  The new admissions application will be mobile friendly and will have students identify their meta major and program of study at the time of application.

  • ApexIT will be working to implement the retention component of the CRM, called Salesforce Advisor Link (SAL), in spring 2020. To support this implementation, vice presidents of instruction are working with Guided Pathways teams to associate meta majors with programs of study, which will allow the automatic assignment of counselors and other support team members to students.
  • Deans of counseling are working with their teams to develop the matriculation process maps and associated messages to help get students through the matriculation process. They will hold retreats during the months of May and June to work through these processes. These processes and messages will be built by ApexIT into Salesforce Advisor Link so that matriculation helpers can be assigned to students and they can receive messages to go out at prescribed intervals to help move them through the enrollment funnel (financial aid, assessment, placement, orientation, Student Education Plan (SEP) creation).
  • ITS is working on a single sign on (SSO) portal solution that will house many commonly accessed systems for students (and staff) and will house the Salesforce Advisor Link. This will be launched in the spring of 2020 to correspond with the SAL implementation.

ITS Software Purchase Request Form

Software and technology purchases (other than allowable pro-card purchases) should be made in consultation with the IT Department. IT related electronic equipment includes cell phones, high-volume scanners (costing more than $200), tablet computers, i-pads, e-readers, laptops, desktop computers, printers (any type of printer regardless of cost), cameras (except “point and shoot” cameras costing less than $200), or projectors . The timeline from consultation to receipt of the technology is typically 2-4 weeks. The process for purchasing technology is as follows:

  • The requestor submits an IT work order to initiate a consultation with IT.
  • IT consults with requestor, makes a recommendation, and creates a formal quote with the appropriate vendor.
  • The quote is forwarded by IT to the requestor and to IT support.
  • The requestor obtains the accounting information through appropriate college channels and sends the quote, along with the accounting information to IT support at itspurchasing@smccd.edu .
  • IT support enters the purchase requisition which is routed through Banner for department/college approval.
  • Once approved, Purchase Order is created by the Purchasing technology IT buyer.
  • The equipment or software is delivered to IT tech support. IT tech support contacts the requestor and makes arrangements for installation.

In order to facilitate ITS vetting of software technology purchases, ITS in collaboration with the Purchasing department have developed a form to initiate the process.




The form consolidates all the questions needed answered by College Administration, Business Offices, ITS and District Purchasing.  We would appreciate any feedback you have regarding the form and how we can improve and streamline the process.  Feel free to reach out to Chris Smith ( smithchr@smccd.edu )

Districtwide Software List Request

If you need to add any software to our districtwide shared cost list, please ask your Vice President of Administration (VPA) to fill out the form below: