Support Holistic Advising Across the Learner Lifecycle

This article was created in collaboration with and sponsored by Salesforce

Today’s student body is more diverse and tech-savvy than ever before. As digital natives, they have grown up with smartphones, and expect constant access and personalized content. From the time they are a prospect, all the way through graduation, they look for a connected experience and a sense of belonging that demonstrates the institution understands them and their goals for the future.

To meet these needs, the current experience needs to be modernized. Administrative silos, manual processes, and decentralized data make it difficult for advisors to build tailored plans and offer proactive support. 

The University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy (UVA Batten) is among the institutions addressing these challenges by empowering advisors to make the student experience more powerful and connected. To accomplish this, they implemented Salesforce Advisor Link, a purpose-built unified advising solution that enables holistic advising across the student lifecycle. 

The team at UVA Batten built a unified system that touches the complete lifecycle of student services. By reducing manual processes and administrative work, they fostered a seamless student experience between admissions, academics, student services, and career services. 

Making a good first impression

Successful institutions recognize that support needs to be tailored to individual students from admissions, to academics, to career counseling and beyond. A support system that evolves with the student helps them keep on track, which in turn boosts enrollment, retention, and completion rates. 

To improve the experience, UVA Batten recognized that they had to make it easier for prospective students to make appointments with admissions, as well as refer them to specific departments if they had questions about courses, activities, or job prospects. 

With Advisor Link, they made it easy for students to make an appointment with an admissions advisor. Once admitted and enrolled, they use the same platform to increase access to relevant information, creating a robust tool that students can rely on to find services at any given time. 

Efficiency for both students and advisors

As students begin their program, they must know where to turn for help. At UVA Batten, the same platform that assisted with the admissions process helps them find services and set up appointments with advisors. Additionally, advisors have a centralized source of information, including notes on prior meetings, course load, activities, and other records. With this information, advisors can track student progress, and identify hurdles before they impact success.

“By reducing the manual process of scheduling, and using a holistic view of the student, we can focus on the whole person, not just academics,” says Steve Hiss, Director of Career Services and Alumni Engagement at UVA Batten.

The future of advising

Staying connected through the student journey requires that technology and data work together across departments. As we navigate distance learning in the face of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to reduce information silos and provide end-to-end support for students.

“Making sure students know there is a team of people who can, and want, to help is critical to success. Connecting student services, academic advising, and career services create an equitable support structure,” says Hiss, “Regardless of background, or familial support, we can provide the same level of support to all students, making them more likely to succeed.”

Whether admissions, academics, or career, advisors play a critical role in helping students navigate any challenges throughout the student journey. Using an end-to-end platform that reduces manual workload means advisors have a better understanding of their students, can place a greater focus on their needs, and develop the sense of community they’re looking for.

Learn more about how UVA Batten supports students

Looking to understand how to support a fully connected student journey? Join to hear how the UVA Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy is leveraging the Salesforce.org Education Cloud to scale and coordinate a highly personalized approach to student advising and engagement including a fully supported onboarding experience.

Register today for the webinar: Connect the admissions and student journey more seamlessly

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EASTERN