Projects

Project Description

In this research, an undergraduate will work with a small faculty team to design a study measuring prospective and current students’ user experience with customer relationship management (CRM) technologies. In addition to user experience, the study will include the effect of CRM on student recruitment and retention efforts.

Technology or Computational Component

CRM technologies are used in industries, including academia, to increase capacity and improve the user experience. In a university setting, CRM technology can be used to help students on their academic journey by tracking and facilitating their progress from initial interest to graduation. The School of Public Health is the first School on the Bloomington campus to use Salesforce CRM for online student recruitment and retention. Internal and external stakeholders are interested in the results of this research. Salesforce is the leading innovative CRM technology across the globe for a wide range of industries. In a university setting, Salesforce social, mobile, and cloud technologies to connect information from students, their home School, and larger university systems. The undergraduate mentee will gain valuable research skills in user experience, data analysis research, and recruitment and retention processes. She will work with a small research team composed of faculty and doctoral students and have several opportunities for presentation and publication. She will also become proficient in the use of customer relationship management technologies, a valuable asset to any resume. The student researcher will work within the Salesforce environment to connect with students and facilitate their progress in their academic journey. The student researcher will work with faculty and doctoral students to design and deploy a Salesforce user experience survey. The student researcher will also analyze data provided by Salesforce to assess the effectiveness of the technology in improving student recruitment and retention. Finally, working with the team, the student prepares a poster, oral presentation, and written article for publication on her work.