SchoolAdmin vs. Slate for Admissions

I would recommend SchoolAdmin for independent school admissions offices. I am not familiar with its use in other settings. It is most useful for offices who are interested in a paperless review process and targeted communications. They have improved their payment collection processes and integration with all billing is possible. We have not yet fully explored this avenue.

Incentivized

Overall, [Technolutions] Slate has been an incredible CRM for our institution. It was easy to learn, and it does its job well. The ability for students to log back into a portal and see their application digitally has saved our staff a lot of time and effort. Previously, we had a web based application that didn't allow for applicants to be actively engaged in their application files and [Technolutions] Slate solved a real problem for us. It's affordable, intuitive and effective.

Incentivized

• Automated lead nurture sequence for inquiries, admissions, and enrollment.
• Digitized recommendation forms
• Communication tools (email and text in particular) to connect with prospects

Incentivized

• Managing contacts.
• Smart communications (drip email campaigns).
• Real-time data management.
• End-to-end control of product (or instance of).
• Allows for easy to implement segmentation via smart rules and queries (data sets).

Incentivized

• Not as flexible as we sometimes need the features to be.
• Data and historical information is not terribly accurate, which means we cannot use it for reporting.

Incentivized

• Doesn't automatically advance to the next application in the queue once one application is processed
• Doesn't allow an easy view of other queues to see what is coming down the pike
• Doesn't allow users to copy email of applicants

While some features are incredibly intuitive and easy for most users to use, there are other features that essentially require coding experience to understand. The features that seem more difficult than others are queries and reports (especially configurable joins queries) and some of the conditional logic within emails and print mailings. Additionally, implementation will definitely require dedicated IT folks for at least a year (or more).

Incentivized

While I do wish they had actual representatives that we able to come to you for trainings for implementation and new users, I understand that a big draw is the money that is saved by instead investing in knowledgebase, which is it's online tutorials for different functions of Slate.

Incentivized

We compared a number of options in considering a new admissions software platform. In the end, customer service, search and reporting capabilities, ease of use, and automated processes made SchoolAdmin the right choice for us. Cost wise, SchoolAdmin was comparable to other systems.

Incentivized

Slate, by Technolutions, is so much more powerful and easier to use than Banner. While we still use Banner for our current students, it wasn't enough for what we needed to do to reach our prospective student population. Especially with the communication options, Slate is lightyears ahead of what is possible with Banner.

Incentivized

• SchoolAdmin has helped streamline our admissions and enrollment processes significantly, resulting in a better customer experience.
• It has helped us reduce paper use, moving from sizable hard copy information packets, applications, and contracts, to having almost everything online and digital. This reduces waste, contributes to environmental well-being, and significantly reduces the need for physical storage and archival space.
• The system has helped improve accuracy and timeliness in data collection, transmission, and communication, allowing our staff to dedicate more time to relational work and less on administrative busywork.

Incentivized

• Helped us recruit some of our largest classes in university history
• Easier user interface so multiple departments using one platform
• Easy to generate reports based on specific criteria

Incentivized