salesforce for higher education

Leveraging Salesforce for Higher Education Centralization

Salesforce for higher education helps administrators improve recruitment, enhance student success, and deepen ties with students and alumni.

Higher education institutions are under increasing pressure to deliver a more connected, student-focused experience. Prospective students expect fast responses, personalized communication, and seamless interactions across every touchpoint. Meeting these expectations requires more than siloed systems or outdated processes.

Salesforce Education Cloud offers a centralized way to manage student information, track engagement, and strengthen relationship management across the entire academic journey. With the right CRM for higher education, administrators can improve recruitment, enhance student success, and deepen ties with both students and alumni.

This article will explore how Salesforce for higher education can help institutions meet these challenges head-on. It will also explain how to choose a trusted partner to guide educational institutions through a tailored implementation that drives measurable impact.

Why Higher Education Institutions Need Salesforce

Higher education institutions face growing challenges that demand a modern and unified technology solution. Legacy systems and disconnected platforms make it hard to engage prospective students, monitor student success, and support data-driven decisions. Salesforce Education Cloud delivers a powerful CRM for higher education to help address these issues.

Here are key reasons educational institutions are turning to Salesforce:

Data fragmentation

Many staff juggle multiple tools without a consolidated view of student engagement. A recent Salesforce report found 34% of staff struggled to locate the data they needed due to fragmented systems.

Improved onboarding and retention

Institutions using Education Cloud's care plan features help students start strong. Students with a great onboarding experience are much more likely to feel supported and achieve success.

AI-powered student support and efficiency

New generative AI tools built into Salesforce for Education help automate admissions workflows and guide students toward graduation with personalized degree plans and skill summaries.

Strategic alumni engagement

According to Salesforce, institutions began prioritizing alumni as active participants through mentoring, volunteering, and career networks instead of relying solely on traditional outreach.

Related Article: How Can We Make Higher Education More Accessible to Student Parents?

Together, these capabilities create a compelling case for a centralized CRM that drives stronger student engagement and operational effectiveness.

Benefits of Salesforce Tailored for Higher Education

Salesforce for higher education is more than a data management tool. It is a platform that empowers institutions to connect with prospective students, guide them to success, and maintain lifelong relationships with students and alumni. By leveraging Salesforce for higher education, administrators can align recruitment, academics, and advancement under one unified strategy.

Enhanced student recruitment and admissions

Target outreach to prospective students with personalized messaging, track application progress, and analyze recruitment data to refine strategies.

Improved student retention and success tracking

Use built-in analytics to identify at-risk students early, provide targeted interventions, and monitor academic progress to keep them on track for graduation.

Streamlined alumni and donor relations

Strengthen relationship management by segmenting alumni audiences, tracking giving history, and engaging donors with relevant opportunities.

Data-driven decision-making

Leverage real-time dashboards in Salesforce CRM to measure the impact of programs, allocate resources efficiently, and meet institutional goals.

Educational institutions using a Salesforce for higher education reported measurable gains in both recruitment and retention rates, according to industry surveys. These results are linked to the ability to unify operations across the student lifecycle.

Related Article: Why Should Universities Embrace a B2B and B2C Strategy?

When implemented with a clear roadmap, Salesforce for education does more than improve processes. It fosters a culture of connection that benefits every stakeholder (from faculty and staff to students and alumni) creating a stronger and more engaged campus community.

Proving the Worth of Salesforce for Higher Education

Real-world results show the measurable impact Salesforce Education Cloud can have on higher education institutions. By streamlining operations, improving student engagement, and enhancing relationship management, schools are seeing gains in recruitment, retention, and alumni participation. The following examples highlight how a well-planned Salesforce CRM implementation can drive student success and create long-term value for educational institutions.

NJEA

Gerent and NJEA launch the OneNJEA: a multiphase initiative designed to transform the association's operations and provide the services & support its constituents need to excel in their work.

See the full NJEA case study

Shippensburg University (Alumni Relations)

Shippensburg University implements Sales Cloud as an alumni-centric solution on a quick turnaround.

See the full Shippensburg case study

Potential Pitfalls of Salesforce Implementation

While Salesforce Education Cloud offers powerful tools for higher education institutions, success depends on more than the software itself. Without a clear strategy, even the best CRM for higher education can fall short of expectations.

Common pitfalls include:

  • Lack of stakeholder alignment
  • If faculty, administrators, and IT are not aligned on goals, the system may be underutilized or resisted.
  • Incomplete data migration
  • Migrating student engagement and relationship management data from legacy systems without proper cleanup can lead to inaccurate reporting and missed opportunities.
  • Over-customization
  • Adding too many custom features early on can complicate future updates and strain internal resources.
  • Insufficient training
  • Without comprehensive onboarding, users may not take full advantage of Salesforce CRM capabilities, impacting student success outcomes.

How to avoid these challenges:

  • Establish clear objectives before implementation and involve stakeholders early.
  • Conduct a thorough data audit to ensure quality before migration.
  • Start with core functionality, then expand as adoption grows.
  • Provide role-specific training for administrators, faculty, and staff to build confidence in daily use.

By proactively addressing these issues, educational institutions can ensure their Salesforce for higher education deployment delivers lasting value.

Leverage the Right Partner for Salesforce Implementation

Selecting the right technology is only part of the transformation. The partner you choose to guide your Salesforce for higher education implementation determines how quickly you see results and how well the system serves your long-term goals. Gerent brings deep expertise in Salesforce Education Cloud and a track record of helping higher education institutions deliver measurable improvements in student success and engagement.

Gerent offers:

  • Proven implementation experience
  • Decades of combined expertise in CRM for higher education, with tailored strategies for recruitment, retention, and alumni relations.
  • Custom onboarding and training
  • Designed for administrators, faculty, and staff to ensure confident system adoption and efficient daily use.
  • Ongoing optimization and support
  • Continuous guidance to adapt Salesforce CRM as institutional needs evolve.
  • Data security and compliance expertise
  • Best practices to safeguard sensitive student and alumni data in line with higher education standards.

With Gerent, educational institutions gain more than a technology vendor. They gain a strategic partner focused on maximizing the value of Salesforce for education and building a connected campus experience that lasts.

Salesforce for higher education gives institutions the tools to improve recruitment, strengthen student success, and build lasting relationships with students and alumni. With Gerent as your implementation partner, you can avoid common pitfalls and achieve measurable results. Now is the time to create a more connected campus experience.

No items found.
green background

Ready to reinvent the future?

Get Started

More from Gerent

LinkedIn icon in blue and whiteFollow Us