Best CRM for Universities
A guide to top CRM platforms for higher education, highlighting how systems help recruit, enroll, and support students—from inquiry to alumni relations—with options like Element451, Slate, TargetX, Salesforce Education Cloud, and Zendesk.
Ideal Customer Profile
Higher education institutions seeking a CRM to improve admissions, enrollment, student engagement, and alumni relations across departments.
Common Pain Points
- •Eliminate data silos across departments
- •Save time and resources with automation
- •Create transparency across departments with real-time data
- •Provide consistent communication with students and families
Top CRM Picks
5 expert-vetted recommendations
Ranked recommendations based on feature depth, pricing transparency, and adoption within the industry.
Perfect For
Engage, enroll, and support students using AI-driven automation in higher education.
⚡ Key Features
- Bolt Agents: AI-powered digital teammates that engage, follow up, personalize outreach, and execute enrollment strategies
- AI workforce to scale outreach without increasing payroll
- Unified student data across the journey
- Personalized, proactive outreach and enrollment planning
Pros
- ✓Reduces staff burnout
- ✓Engages smarter and faster while staying personal
- ✓AI-driven automation tailored for higher ed
Cons
- ✗
"This isn’t just innovation. It’s relief."
Perfect For
Admissions and enrollment teams seeking integrated, comprehensive lifecycle management.
⚡ Key Features
- Integrates with Banner, Colleague, PeopleSoft, PowerCampus, Jenzabar, and more
- Advanced document management
- In-depth communication tools
- Video integrations
- Payment features
- Industry-leading security options
Pros
- ✓Integrates broadly with common higher ed apps; reduces need for third-party tools
- ✓Predictable, flat-rate pricing
Cons
- ✗
"Most users are able to eliminate third-party applications in order to justify the cost of using Slate."
Perfect For
Higher education institutions seeking lifecycle management with analytics and Salesforce integration.
⚡ Key Features
- Enrollment Suite
- Retention Suite
- Flexible suites with Salesforce integration
Pros
- ✓Comprehensive lifecycle coverage
- ✓Flexible suites tailored to enrollment and retention
- ✓Good Salesforce connectivity
Cons
- ✗
"Flexible, lifecycle-focused platform; pricing not publicly disclosed."
Perfect For
Institutions already using Salesforce looking for digital transformation and connected student life cycle.
⚡ Key Features
- Education Data Architecture (EDA)
- Mobile and cloud-based platform
- End-to-end student lifecycle connectivity
Pros
- ✓Strong data architecture and life-long student connectivity
- ✓Cloud/mobile-first platform
Cons
- ✗
"Best for institutions already in the Salesforce ecosystem looking to transform processes."
Perfect For
Schools needing multi-channel, easy-to-implement customer service CRM.
⚡ Key Features
- Multi-channel communication (email, chat, phone, social)
- User-friendly and quick to implement
- Support-focused CRM for education
Pros
- ✓User friendly
- ✓Quick to implement
- ✓Powerful options without extra IT support
Cons
- ✗
"User-friendly, quick to implement, multi-channel support."
Buying Guide
Step-by-step guide to finding your perfect CRM
Strategic considerations to shortlist the right CRM platform for your workflow, tech stack, and growth roadmap.
- 1
Download the White Paper to learn what to look for when choosing higher education marketing and enrollment software.
- 2
Schedule a demo to see how the solution fits your institution's needs.
- 3
Ensure buy-in at every level during implementation.
- 4
Only choose secure and FERPA-compliant solutions.
- 5
Set internal standards and common processes for daily use.
Continue Your CRM Research
Continue exploring to make the best CRM decision