In today's digital age, data is king. It drives decisions, informs strategies, and powers innovations. However, the data we need is often locked away in separate systems, creating what is known as data silos.

Data silos hinder collaboration and limit the potential for seamless and personalized experiences. That's where APIs come in.

But what exactly is an API? During this year’s 2023 Engage Summit session titled “Breaking the Data Silos: How Element451 Open Data Enables Innovation,” Director of Data and Integrations Jacob Patton, Chief Technology Officer Petar Djordjevic, and Software Engineer Milos Tomic explored the significance of using APIs and provided valuable insights for beginners, intermediates, and experts in the field.

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What is an API?

Simply put, an API, or application programming interface, is a tool that allows for easy integration with other systems. It acts as a bridge between different applications, enabling them to communicate and share data. 

APIs have become increasingly important in the education industry, where they are used to create a more cohesive and efficient ecosystem. 

Why Should Higher Education Use APIs?

Student’s want a seamless experience that is also personalized. They don’t care where the data is hosted. 

APIs are vital in bringing the data and signals into Element451 that allow for personalized experiences for students, reducing the need for multiple systems, and enabling more informed decision-making.  

With APIs, you can do anything from importing or exporting data to registering someone for an event, all in one place — your CRM.

This is important because switching systems isn’t just complicated for students. If you can't see all your data and signals in one location, you can end up wasting precious resources and time switching between tasks. With APIs, you can spend more time connecting & helping students and less time back & forth between systems. 

Higher education institutions can and should use APIs and middleware tools for several specific reasons:

1. Seamless and Personalized Experiences: APIs enable a seamless and personalized experience for students by integrating different systems, like Element451, which can be used to connect with other platforms such as Zapier and Make. This integration automates processes and facilitates data transfer, making it easier for students to access the information they need.
   
2. Reduction of Data Silos: APIs and middleware tools help reduce data silos by integrating systems, centralizing student information, and eliminating redundant data entry. This streamlines processes, ensuring data accuracy. Element 451's integrations demonstrate how form responses, lead generation, and meeting scheduling can be seamlessly managed.
   
3. Informed Decision-Making: APIs empower institutions to make informed decisions by gathering data from various sources. This holistic view of student performance, engagement, and outcomes aids in strategic planning, resource allocation, and student support initiatives.
   
4. Easy Integrations Without Extensive Coding: Middleware tools like Zapier and Make simplify system integration without extensive coding knowledge. With pre-built connectors and workflows, these tools offer a powerful and flexible way to integrate systems. We’ll explore middleware in depth in the following section.

How Does Open Data Enable Innovation?

APIs allow for seamless and personalized experiences. They enable students to have a consistent and tailored user journey across various applications. 

Whether it's sending form responses, lead generation, or scheduling meetings, APIs facilitate a smooth flow of information, eliminating the need for multiple systems and reducing redundancy.

Element451’s extensive use of middleware tools like Zapier allows for easy integration without the need for extensive coding knowledge. These middleware tools provide a powerful and flexible way to integrate systems, making it easier for educational institutions to streamline their processes. Zapier, for instance, enables system integration with more than 6,000 apps without coding knowledge.

Element451 has also integrated with Make, another middleware tool that offers additional features such as adding activities, and tasks, and importing/exporting data. 

This opens up a world of possibilities for Element451 users. Based on your proficiency, you can leverage APIs to create diverse integrations that enhance productivity and offer a more seamless user experience for your students.

Element451 Integrations

Element451's platform also integrates with and for a wide range of systems. These integrations demonstrate how Element can seamlessly connect with various tools and systems to streamline processes for educational institutions.

Common App

One important integration is Common App, a popular college application portal. With the API, Element451 is able to download data from Common App and keep a comprehensive history of it. This integration allows educational institutions to access and manage the application data more efficiently.

Ellucian Ethos (Banner, Colleague)

Through a bidirectional integration, Element451 is able to sync data in real time between these systems. This integration enables seamless data transfer and ensures that information is up to date across the different platforms.

CNFC (College Foundation of North Carolina)

The CFNC integration involves managing and loading documents like high school transcripts and application previews into the Element451 platform. Element451 uses smart rules to intelligently attach the documents to the appropriate student records based on predefined criteria. 

Populi (SIS)

Populi is a comprehensive campus management system used by many institutions. With the Populi integration, users can seamlessly transfer student data, such as enrollment information, grades, and course schedules, between Element451 and Populi. This integration ensures that information remains accurate and up-to-date across both platforms, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors. 

This integration, created specifically for Presidio Graduate School, also focuses on streamlining the process of creating Google and Zoom accounts. With the integration, Element is able to leverage prebuilt connectors within Presidio to automate the account creation process. This integration eliminates the need for manual account setup, saving time and effort for both administrators and students.

With other integrations, including TouchNet, Flywire, and various systems and apps, it's clear that Element 451 is committed to providing a connected and efficient education ecosystem. Our integrations with various systems offer a seamless flow of information and streamlined processes. 

If you're an educational institution looking to break the data silos and optimize your processes, consider harnessing the power of APIs and personalized integrations. With Element45, you can create a seamless and efficient ecosystem that empowers both students and administrators. 

Schedule a call and see for yourself how it works.

View All the Engage Summit Sessions

To see the slides and rewatch all the Engage Summit session recordings, visit our session library.