RELATIONSHIP SOFTWARE' MAY BE KEY TO COLLEGES' SUCCESS
Colleges could bring in more revenues by using software to form
closer ties to students and alumni, says Rodney L. Everhart of
SCT Global Education Solutions, a maker of administrative-systems
software.
Colleges can use software that searches the Web to
look for the school's name. If the college is mentioned, the
software looks for a person's name and compares the information
to data in the school's own systems. This could allow a school
to discover, for example, that an alumnus has earned an award
from the World Health Organization, Everhart says. The college
could then send a congratulatory letter, thereby maintaining a
relationship with the former student and improving the odds that
the person will donate to the school.
Coordinating data could
also allow a school to automatically allow seniors to register
for any particular course they need to graduate, even if the
course is full. Ordinarily in these circumstances, the student
would be forced to contact different offices seeking an
exception, possibly resulting in a negative view of the school.
Relationship management tools could help the system recognize the
student's situation and allow admittance to the course without
even notifying the student of the problem, says Everhart.
(Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 26 April 2000)
Contact F. David Peat
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