The challenge
A statewide initiative across the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) was moving student records onto a single, shared system, one that wasn't built to support alumni relations or advancement work. For Shippensburg University's Office of Alumni Relations, that meant finding an alternative CRM before the end of the year.
The department had been managing alumni records in a database tool that wasn't user-friendly or robust enough for the work. Staff often fell back on manually updated spreadsheets just to keep track of information, adding effort and risk to everyday operations.
Shippensburg needed a CRM built to house alumni records and support department operations. It also needed an efficient way to use predictive data analytics to guide outreach and event planning. And with a hard deadline approaching, the university needed a partner experienced enough to implement a new solution quickly and reliably.
The TELUS Digital solution
TELUS Digital implemented Salesforce Sales Cloud and stood up Shippensburg's new Salesforce org, then migrated the department's alumni records out of its legacy student information system. Managed services support and hands-on training accompanied the rollout, giving staff the confidence to use the new system from day one.
The full transition was completed well ahead of the statewide deadline, giving the Alumni Relations department a solid foundation to start the new year.
The results
With Sales Cloud in place, Shippensburg University's Alumni Relations department moved from a rigid, spreadsheet-dependent process to a flexible, data-driven one, well before the statewide deadline hit. The engagement brought several changes:
- A single Salesforce CRM now replaces legacy systems and manual spreadsheets for alumni records
- Automation has cut back on hours of excessive manual data entry and tracking
- Staff can act on data insights to plan events and connect with alumni as strategies evolve
- Greater flexibility, personalization and customization now shape the alumni connections strategy
- The groundwork is set for future expansion into Career Services and broader marketing efforts
