What questions should most colleges and universities ask when seeking a new constituent relationship management (CRM) system for higher education admissions software?

It is common practice for many institutions to issue a formal Request for Proposal (RFP), including extensive lists of requirements and questions for industry providers to complete and respond.

These formal requests can vary in quality of thoughtfulness and clarity regarding each institution’s current and future needs. Vendors frequently find it challenging to understand the true objectives of an RFP. The final document is often a Frankenstein composite of requirements gathered from multiple contributors in a disorganized way, along with borrowed language from previous RFPs that may or may not be applicable.

Attempts to clarify during the process can be valiant but only sometimes helpful, resulting in pages of irrelevant answers to questions that have no real bearing on the success or failure of the higher education admissions software project.

To eliminate pain and friction, what questions should colleges and universities ask in an RFP to find the best technology solution for their higher education CRM admissions software needs and simplify the procurement process?

With over 16 years of experience in higher education admissions software, Enrollment Rx maintains a comprehensive list of questions that we believe most colleges and universities should be asking themselves and any provider of higher education admissions software.

While we cannot list all of the questions here, we can share our belief that the most relevant questions fall into one of the following categories:

  • Recruitment
  • Admissions
  • Events
  • Data
  • Communication
  • Integration
  • Implementation, Support, and Upgrades
  • System Security and Compliance

If your institution is considering issuing an RFP for higher education admissions software, please don’t hesitate to contact Enrollment Rx. We are here to support your success and will happily share our list of questions for your consideration.