By Jim Bottum, Vice Provost for Computing & Information Technology and Chief Information Officer
Online collaboration. Real-time interaction tracking. Targeted outreach. Benefits like these can help Clemson’s faculty and staff increase efficiency, streamline processes and improve communication. Toward that end, Clemson has partnered with Salesforce.com to share information about these benefits and more at a Connected Campus workshop from 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. August 6 at the Madren Conference Center. Lunch will be provided for this event and a reception will follow.
Organizers will present technologies relevant and applicable to many university areas, and opportunities to learn from other campuses’ deployments of the Salesforce technologies to meet their business challenges. Faculty and staff’s insight is critical as Clemson evaluates whether or not to pursue a strategic relationship with Salesforce in these areas.
So far, we’ve seen that Salesforce.com’s technologies have promise for use at Clemson through its ability to be the unifying platform that bridges gaps between all of our university functions, both present and future, and to solve problems relevant to the University’s mission. In short, the Salesforce applications have the ability to drive real-time business intelligence and operational data analytics in key University functional areas including human resources, admissions, athletics, financial aid, finance, registrar, advancement, facilities, sponsored research, student affairs, libraries, and many more.
Several notable examples demonstrate the applicability of these technologies for solving issues in higher education:
The College of William and Mary has used a variety of Salesforce tools to streamline their applications process and prospect communication. The various integrations allowed for a procedural streamline that resulted in a 50 percent increase in prospect records, and a 96 percent decrease in duplicate or invalid applications. The new processes also allowed for the school to develop individualized prospect communications and undertake more targeted outreach initiatives.
The University of Georgia has deployed Salesforce’s Chatter product in its professional MBA courses to allow students to collaborate, share ideas and innovate within their work. Teams were able to collaborate on new ideas and develop networks of help and support while professors could monitor which teams were properly engaged and intervene with a kick-start as needed. As a result, learning objectives achieved increased by 54 percent and 88 percent of students said Chatter was a significant contributor to their learning.
The University of California Berkeley has created using Salesforce tools, a one-stop shop for students to ask questions, get help, and find answers. “Cal Student Central” uses Salesforce technology to track and accumulate transactions and interactions, and uses this data to flag “trending topics”. The university then uses these topics to tailor emails, website, and social communications to students to ensure the most pertinent issues are being addressed.
Attendance is encouraged from all parts of the university – staff, faculty, and students – and the workshop will offer many opportunities for Q&A, software demonstrations, and discussions on challenges found in many of the University’s key business areas.
Registration is required to attend. View a tentative agenda for the workshop here.
