| CRM in Higher Education | | | | increasingly important role in maintaining such |
| "Today, more than ever before in human history, | | | | relationships in these organizations. |
| wealth of nations depends on quality of higher | | | | Why Implement a CRM Business Strategy in Higher |
| education." | | | | Education |
| Higher education, today, is undergoing a more radical | | | | Because higher education is far enough behind the |
| transformation than perhaps any other aspect of our | | | | commercial sector to gain from the CRM and assume |
| culture. Educational institutions world-wide are | | | | customer-centric approaches. Teaching departments |
| undergoing fundamental shifts in how they operate | | | | and offices work as separate entities in many |
| and interact with their "customers": students, alumni, | | | | colleges and universities today. Faced with divisional |
| faculty members, and staff members. The quality of | | | | boundaries, it is often very difficult for these |
| knowledge generated with higher educational | | | | different institutional functions to focus on their |
| institutions and its availability to wider economy is | | | | customers in a coordinated fashion. By providing a |
| becoming increasingly critical to national | | | | common platform for customer communication and |
| competitiveness. New technology-based tools for | | | | interaction, CRM applications are designed to increase |
| gathering and disseminating knowledge have become | | | | the effectiveness of staff members who interact |
| central element of today's education. Technological, | | | | with customers or prospects. |
| economic, sociological, and governmental forces are | | | | Emerging CRM processes and technologies are going |
| altering education dramatically, impacting its | | | | to drive the growth of new types of resources and |
| institutions, teachers, students, funding sources, and | | | | services. Within the higher education enterprises, |
| basic function in society. To unlock potential and | | | | much of this new functionality is focused in the |
| helping talented people to gain advanced training, | | | | students' area. The exciting new level of |
| whatever their background, requires customer-centric | | | | student-related functionality and performance is |
| approach to education. | | | | having an impact on students as well as on the |
| So, institutions need strategies that make them more | | | | administrative staff and management, companies, the |
| receptive and responsive to their core constituencies | | | | faculty, media, and the institution as a whole. |
| - their students. Students increasingly see themselves | | | | A look at each of these areas: - |
| as customers who purchase education services form | | | | Students - Today's system has little to offer |
| competing providers. Kotler & Fox (1995) state, | | | | students, particularly the new breed of |
| "The best organization in the world will be ineffective | | | | technology-savvy students who want to be more in |
| if the focus on 'customers' is lost. First and foremost | | | | control of their learning environment. Today's |
| is treatment of individual students, alumni, parents, | | | | students demand a higher level of access to |
| friends, and each other (internal customers). Every | | | | information about their options, their performance, |
| contact counts!" | | | | and their future. They also demand the technology |
| During the mid-1980s and late 1990s, over-crowded | | | | resources to be an integral part of their learning |
| classes, inadequate library and laboratory facilities, and | | | | experience. The standard for access to faculty and |
| little student's services have been the norms in most | | | | student services will change as students come to |
| of the institutions. Rarely has an institution responded | | | | expect virtual access to faculty and student services |
| by creating remedial program for inadequately | | | | resources. The old ways of interacting with students |
| prepared students. But now colleges and universities | | | | will become untenable - like expecting them to line-up |
| have initiated re-structuring and re-engineering their | | | | for hours when instead they can choose an institution |
| operating processes to cut costs and become more | | | | that can meet their needs on their own terms, on |
| efficient while responding to increased competition. | | | | their schedule, with virtual support system. |
| Higher education customers are demanding more | | | | Companies - Companies come to educational |
| attention and immediate service. Proactive institutes | | | | institutions for recruiting their students in campus |
| are now adjusting their practices by refocusing their | | | | selection procedures. They are so amongst the most |
| efforts externally. Because of the need to | | | | important clients of such education organizations. |
| concentrate more on customers, many institutions | | | | Keeping continuous and direct contacts with these |
| are tuning to customer relationship management. | | | | companies will enable institutes to maintain good and |
| CRM is important because of the changes occurring in | | | | healthy relationships and improve contacts and |
| the competitive environment. Globalization and the | | | | service to them. |
| Internet mean that competition can now come as | | | | Administrators - A CRM business strategy for a |
| easily from around the world as from around the | | | | college or university administrative system would also |
| corner. Power and choice are moving to the | | | | introduce a true self-service system that empowers |
| customer as never before, and leading to the | | | | the administrative team to rethink the investment to |
| commoditization of products and services in most | | | | administrative resources in institutional services. |
| situations. | | | | Faculty Members - Today's system provides little |
| In today's scenario, most of the institutions want to | | | | value for faculty members. In the new learning |
| compete with others. To compete with other | | | | environment, faculty and student services are closely |
| institutions, some institutions are getting autonomous | | | | linked, dynamically sharing resources and strategies to |
| status, some of them are trying to get ISO | | | | enable student learning. Imagine a process whereby a |
| Certification, others are looking for accreditation | | | | faculty member can make immediate student |
| status, deemed university status, and some others | | | | referrals to key support programs on campus-even |
| are tied-up with multi-national companies (MNCs), and | | | | when working at home. |
| so on. The institutions, which are not ready to | | | | The Institution - CRM delivers a new conceptual and |
| compete, will surely become as "Void and Vanish". | | | | structural framework for directing institutional |
| It is essential that academic institutions have to | | | | activities to attract and retain its various customers. |
| concentrate about some strategies, techniques, or | | | | Most import is the ability of a truly robust set of |
| methods by which they can become "Brand Building". | | | | institutional processes and tools to bring the entire |
| And one such strategy is CRM. CRM strategy for an | | | | institution together around its people. |
| academic institution should lead to employment rather | | | | Media - Academic institutions are many times |
| than merely giving education. At present, academic | | | | interested in advertising, publicizing, promoting, and |
| institutions are eager to maintain a long-term | | | | marketing for them. In doing this, they are required |
| relationship with the students rather than a relation | | | | to maintain and be in contact with various |
| which is related only to their course duration. | | | | media-based service-providers who help them for this |
| Customer relationship management is all about | | | | purpose. CRM plays an important role in maintaining |
| satisfying and retaining the customer by providing the | | | | and making new such productive, profitable, |
| perquisites he/she desires for. The relations that are | | | | rewarding, and fruitful relationships, which benefit |
| maintained are a kind of trust that the institutions | | | | these organizations on short and long runs both. |
| provide to its customers (students) and fulfill them. | | | | Fortunately, emerging methodologies in research and |
| Educational institutions are also among those | | | | marketing offer higher education institutions the |
| profit-making institutions which are attaining the path | | | | ability to adapt and evolve by building an ongoing |
| of CRM. Academic institutions are themselves not | | | | dialogue with students, admissions representatives, |
| different from any other organizations. They are | | | | parents, employers and alumni. This dialogue serves |
| themselves profit-making firms who impart education | | | | as the process by which an educational brand is built |
| for money and try to grow as any other | | | | and maintained. Using an effective Customer |
| organization. Whether they are government-owned | | | | Relationship Management (CRM) solution is vital for |
| or self-financed private institutions; almost all | | | | education establishments to deal more efficiently with |
| educational institutions are profit-making organizations. | | | | the complex multi-level relationships they have to |
| Such organizations focus on CRM not only to impart | | | | manage. |
| state-of-the-art education to their students, but also | | | | |
| have to maintain relations with their working staff, | | | | C.Pavithira |
| administrators, companies, vendors and with their | | | | M. |
| primary customers - students. CRM plays an | | | | |