Higher ed institutions are increasingly turning to student management systems to stay competitive and attract more students. Inside Higher Education has described the struggle between colleges as “the tyranny of the market,” and digital tools help schools stay aligned with student needs and expectations.

CRM and student engagement platforms like Element451 have the ability to centralize student data and automate many cumbersome processes. This lift enables institutions to provide personalized, high-quality experience to students. While Ellucian is one of the most popular student management platforms today, it isn’t the only option.

In this installment of our CRM series, we’ll give you a better understanding of how Element451 stacks up to many of the most popular Ellucian competitors on the market so that you unlock a true digital transformation.

What is a Higher Ed CRM Platform or Management System?

Higher education institutions can leverage customer relationship management (CRM) platforms (or a college management system) like Ellucian or Element451 to bridge the communication gaps between students and staff. CRM systems provide important information about the student journey, hopefully connecting the dots from recruitment, to persistence, and then to degree attainment.

CRM software, including top alternatives to Ellucian, streamline admissions outreach, enrollment, financial aid, and other important student services. By protecting student information in one place, it’s easier for multiple campus offices and personnel to understand what students need next in their journey. The result is a more personalized college experience in which help is readily available. 

Administrators, recruiters, and admissions officers can easily (and securely) share data about students in real-time. Not only does this make the internal experience more effective, but it also improves learner engagement and campus life.

Let’s take a look at how Ellucian CRM competitors rank by comparing known characteristics and features, customer input, and cost. 

The Best Ellucian CRM Alternatives on the Market

Ellucian is designed specifically and purposefully for higher education institutions. The platform helps education providers manage student admissions, marketing campaigns, and recruitment processes. 

Ellucian CRM improves workflow efficiencies from a business or operational standpoint. For instance, Ellucian’s workflow management tools enable staff to manage their workload and resources more effectively, ensuring that everyone works towards a common goal. The software also includes real-time dashboards and notifications to help staff make informed decisions about their work and potential problems before they arise.

Ellucian’s full product suite is comprehensive, and different products (including Banner, CRM Advance, and Degree Works) all have differing customer experiences. Some of these offerings even include tools for travel management, donations, and human resources.

Here’s a closer look at Ellucian’s top competitors in the higher ed CRM marketplace.

Element451 is a modern engagement and CRM platform that’s uniquely designed to serve higher education admissions, enrollment, and student life cycle management. Element451’s uniquely student-first experience includes powerful features, some of which are AI-powered. An intuitive user interface and conversational design elements make communicating with prospective students easier than ever. 

Element451 has powered over 20 million separate admissions journeys in the realm of higher education. Licensing options are highly affordable, even for smaller institutions and community colleges.

Element451 assists educational institutions as they attract, reach, and retain more students—all the way to degree attainment and beyond. When compared to other platforms, Element451 takes a multi-channel digital approach that connects with students in ways that are most relevant to them.

Personalized recommendations and student-centric marketing campaigns to encourage student success, improve the learning experience, and boost retention

In-depth customer resources, artificial intelligence tools, webinars, guides, and whitepapers

AI-powered content creation with BoltBot and Bolt Copilot

Powerful, accurate reporting capabilities for each institution

No-code forms, microsites, and landing pages for student outreach

A wide selection of powerful customer stories and individual testimonials can be found by browsing Element’s case studies library. On average, customers report increased enrollment rates, higher levels of student interaction and engagement, and the ability to design custom integrations that improve internal workflows. 

Element451's yearly licenses start at $20k per year, with custom quote and pricing available based on need and functionality. The starting price point makes Element 451 one of the most robust yet affordable options on the market.

Future-proof student success with the intelligent chatbot for higher ed. Harness BoltBot's ever-growing knowledge base and 24/7 access to create a frictionless student experience.

Slate by Technolutions is an all-in-one CRM platform for higher education use cases. Its reliability revolves around helping institutions operate at maximum efficiency through the use of powerful, accessible data. Among other competitors and alternatives, Slate’s automations and modern features make it a great choice for institutions that want to invest in cutting edge technology to improve the student experience. 

Slate comes loaded with features that improve administrative processes for college admissions teams. Slate is considered easier to adopt than a major CRM platform like Salesforce for Higher Ed, and it offers helpful customer support options to customers. The all-in-one approach combines admissions, recruitment, and student retention into one centralized spot.

Single intuitive interface for faster adoption in one location

Ability to access real-time reports and end-to-end communication with students

Cloud-based solution with no hardware required

Slate has received a “High Performer” badge on G2 for maintaining its popularity among customers and users in admissions and recruitment.

The Slate pricing model is one of the most transparent on the market. The starting price for this student information system is around $30,000 per year for average institutions. 

Salesforce for Higher Ed is a cloud-based platform that offers an exceptional experience for higher education management tasks. The platform offers features for recruitment, retention, and engagement of students, faculty, and staff. With a broad range of tools, including admissions and enrollment management, student success tracking, and fundraising, Salesforce for Higher Ed helps schools centralize data points and take advantage of comprehensive campus insights.

When compared to other higher education CRM tools for educational institutions, this choice comes backed with the power of globally-recognized powerhouse—Salesforce.

Personalized learner relationships through AI tools

Fundraising and donor contribution management

Digital campus suite to engage and retain students

Security and privacy measures backed by Salesforce CRM

Salesforce has a worthy track record of helping customers (and educators) succeed. According to a Forrester Consulting ROI report, using Salesforce for Higher Ed can result in a 5.5% increase in student enrollment and a 10% jump in fundraising or investment efforts.

Salesforce licensing costs are provided by the user, per month. More information can be located on the Salesforce Education Cloud pricing page, although specific customizations and features may not be included in the starting price.

Pipedrive is a single platform helps educational institutions make data-driven decisions about the admissions and enrollment processes. Schools can use Pipedrive to oversee activities like lead management, scheduling, sales automation, and student communications. Although Pipedrive doesn’t specialize in higher education exclusively, the platform’s primary selling point is that it helps organizations and companies grow.

In the list of Ellucian alternatives, Pipedrive offers a highly customizable system that is easy-to-use, making it a popular choice for schools that want to get up to speed quickly. Pipedrive prides itself on being more intuitive for users and value-driven when compared to other top choices like Salesforce.

Sales software for a fully customizable sales cycle

Best-in-class email marketing software suite

400+ integrations to other tools and services with one-click integration

Tech.Co rates Pipedrive highly, with a 9.5 satisfaction rating and user friendly reviews. Potential higher education customers should keep in mind that many of Pipedrive’s user reviews are cross-industry and may depend on different use cases than in an academic setting.

Pipedrive’s pricing plans are publicly available, with the most popular option starting at around $50 USD per month, per user. The customer support experience is greater on higher tier subscriptions.

Zoho CRM is a CRM system used by over 250,000 businesses and organizations worldwide to improve the sales cycle and customer relationship process. While not specifically designed or targeted to colleges and universities, private schools that operate in a more business-like environment may benefit from Zoho’s reputation for sales development.

Because Zoho is not exclusive to higher education, users may need to activate or take advantage of the Educational Sector feature. This tool allows schools to create modules and fields that are specific to student information management.

The top features and benefits of Zoho CRM include:

Simplified solution and easy-to-use interface for users of all skill levels

Affordable monthly billing options for any sized business or school

Consultation, onboarding, and helpful support team for easy migrations

Secure integrations with other widely used apps and platforms

Cloud-based, comprehensive customer relationship management

Zoho maintains a 4.0 out of 5 star rating on G2. Because Zoho intuitively focuses on spending money wisely, customers enjoy its ability to use and leverage resources more efficiently. Some customers report problems with Zoho’s disjointed product aspects, which make it harder to find complete solutions or receive the right customer assistance.

There is a no-cost or “freemium” option for Zoho, which may include limited features that are helpful for testing. Standard plans begin at $14 per month, per user. More comprehensive, enterprise level plans go up to $52 per month, per user. 

Oracle NetSuite CRM is a cloud based CRM software that provides advanced tech solutions for a variety of industries. A specialized School Management Software helps cloud-based colleges and universities scale their existing initiatives, maximize available resources, and reduce overhead costs.

NetSuite CRM differentiates itself with a set of advanced features and functionalities. Unlike other software, NetSuite CRM integrates with complementary NetSuite products, including NetSuite ERP, to provide a more holistic view of student data. Administrators and educators can use these insights to guide decision-making processes.

NetSuite's education-specific product features include:

Financial management (including budgeting and forecasting)

A 360-degree view of student records and contact information

Analytics and tools that guide decision-making

NetSuite's features are useful for managing prospective students, storing student information and data, and providing software support to department heads or campus leaders.

NetSuite also maintains a 4.0 out of 5 star rating on G2. Many users enjoy the customization options and user-friendliness. Some customers dislike that additional, helpful features come with a heavy price markup on the overall product.  

For custom pricing, prospective users have to sign up for a free product tour to learn how this ERP can be implemented university-wide. Other licensing price points are not publicly available for this management software. 

For colleges wanting to maximize admissions metrics, Embark CRM is a popular choice. With Embark, schools can collect and filter incoming student applications for each level of program and degree. Smart recruitment features also make it easy to manage marketing and outreach initiatives. Embark branches its products into two main segments—Embark Campus (to manage online admissions) and Embark Connect.

The Embark platform is designed to be a fully collaborative software, which gives every individual with approval powers the ability to observe, comment, and act on new information.

Embark also helps colleges and universities create branded connection points for incoming students so that each point of contact is consistent, professional, and intuitive.

Easily customizable onboarding, recruiting, and inquiry forms

Mobile compatibility and engagement to empower responses on-the-go

HR-related task management, including communication and payroll

Timed application pages to test applicant responses and measure key metrics

According to its main website, Embark has powered over 16 million applications worldwide. This number is significant and showcases a longstanding history of helping schools and students excel. Embark also has impressive customer ratings on Capterra.

There is currently no free trial or “freemium” option available for prospective Embark customers. Customizable pricing is available by getting in touch with Embark directly. 

Which Student Information System is Right for You?

If you're looking to improve your institution's operations and administrative processes, the right CRM or student engagement tool is a must-have. But because each platform offers different tools, customer experiences, and pricing options, it’s wise to carefully research options before committing to one tool for your digital transformation.

Element451 exists to help institutions of all sizes create a personalized experience and deliver top-notch communication that students are actually seeking. With fast, responsive, and intuitive marketing capabilities, choosing Element451 puts colleges one step ahead in the fast-moving world of higher ed platforms.

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