Rooted in Service Since 1842

Bethel University has served students since 1842, making it one of the oldest institutions in the state. The small, private Christian university in McKenzie, Tennessee, sits about two hours from both Nashville and Memphis.

Its mission is to equip individuals for a life of service through academic, spiritual, social, and experiential learning. "Our product is not the university," said Lougan Bishop, Vice President of Enrollment and Advancement. "Our product is our students."

Bethel serves several distinct populations. It was an early leader in online education, holds a strong dual enrollment presence across West Tennessee, and hosts an active on-campus undergraduate community.

Separate Systems for Every Student Population

When Bishop arrived in spring 2025, Bethel's admissions work ran across disconnected tools:

• A system for each population. In-person undergraduate, dual enrollment, and adult degree and graduate admissions each worked from a different system with its own processes.
• Tools that resisted change. A custom-built admissions system made processes hard to adjust, and the adult degree and graduate CRM wasn't set up to email prospective students.
• Outreach without a platform behind it. Undergraduate recruiting depended on texting, phone calls, and high school visits, with no coordinated communication plans.
• Results that arrived at year end. Funnel numbers surfaced only after a cycle closed, too late to change course.

"Numbers weren't reported until the end of things," Bishop said. "There were no weekly reports, no monthly reports, no quarterly reports. There was just, 'Here's the number we ended up with last year.'"

The separation mattered because Bethel's populations feed one another. Dual enrollment students can continue as undergraduates, and undergraduates can return for graduate programs. With each group in its own system, those handoffs depended on people rather than shared data.

Timing added pressure. Bishop had helped implement four or five CRMs at earlier institutions, and some took years to launch. One month into his tenure, he needed a working system before the next recruitment cycle began.

Bethel found that system in Element451, and had it running within two months of signing.

Growth Across the Funnel in Year One

Wider Reach Drove 50% More Applications and Admits

For the fall 2026 recruitment cycle, Bethel bought prospective student names in bulk for the first time in years. Element451 gave the team a way to reach every one of them, so the university nearly tripled its list of high school seniors.

That reach carried all the way through the funnel, giving Bethel its first increase in first-year enrollment in several years.

"We could actually communicate with those students," Bishop said. "That brought in about 50% more applications, which correlated to 50% more admitted students."

Bethel also moved the start of its admissions cycle from August to May, so outreach to rising seniors begins months earlier. Funnel dashboards now show progress every week instead of once a year.

A Working CRM Two Months After Signing

Bethel signed with Element451 in mid-July 2025. By mid-September, the university had a working CRM with communication plans and four applications live: traditional undergraduate, adult degree, online graduate, and dual enrollment.

Element451's own team led the implementation, so Bethel never had to coordinate a separate vendor. "I didn't have to buy the product and then go find someone else to implement it for me," Bishop said.

That direct relationship has continued past launch. "I know the Element team members' names," he said. "I understand how competent they are, and I feel more confident whenever we're doing something new."

A New Nursing Program at Nearly Triple Its Projection

In July 2026, Bethel launched an LPN-to-BSN program, which lets licensed practical nurses earn a bachelor of science in nursing. Because the team can build and publish a new program application in under an hour, recruiting began right away.

Applications arrived within the first day, and the program's first class reached nearly three times its projected size.

Counselors Ready for Every Conversation

Bolt agents and Element AI CRM tools give Bethel's counselors context before they reach out. Copilot, a Bolt agent that works for staff, pulls up student information at a glance with talking points tailored to each prospective student. The international admissions counselor chats with prospective students in their own language, and the team's knowledge base answers everyday campus questions.

Agents also draft communication plans and workflows, so staff refine the message rather than build every email from scratch. That lets counselors put their personal outreach where it makes the most difference.

"Using agents and real people together lets you do more with the people you have," Bishop said.

Bethel's Most Successful Giving Tuesday

Bethel's advancement team uses the same platform to reach alumni and donors. Custom fields and labels keep those records separate from student records, while the university's donor database remains the system of record. A monthly alumni newsletter now runs through Element.

On Giving Tuesday 2025, Bethel raised more in a single day than all of its previous Giving Tuesdays combined. Email from Element worked alongside social media outreach, and the gifts helped launch the Wildcat Assistance Fund for students facing financial emergencies.

"It's amazing what you can do when you can actually email people," Bishop said.

Turning the Tide Toward Enrollment Growth

In its first year on Element451, Bethel replaced a patchwork of tools with one platform and brought its admissions groups together as a single team. Applications and admits each grew by about 50%, and the first-year class grew for the first time in several years.

Decisions that once waited for a final count now draw on weekly funnel data. The same platform also supports advancement, giving staff across enrollment and fundraising one shared record of every relationship.

"Overall, it's allowed us to start turning the tide as a university toward enrollment growth," Bishop said.

Building a CRM From Prospect to Alumni

Bishop's goal is to make Element451 Bethel's full lifecycle CRM, covering prospective students, current students, alumni, and donors. Nursing faculty already work in the platform, athletic coaches will join next, and student life is on the roadmap.

With its knowledge base now complete, Bethel is building microsites that will include Bolt agents. Bishop also expects upcoming alumni features to strengthen the advancement work his team has already built.