Student Advising AMPs Up

Imagine booking an appointment with your academic adviser with two clicks of your smartphone. Or if you’re an adviser, accessing notes from a colleague across campus for a student earning a dual degree. A new tool called TerpEngage Advising is making this a reality for 19,000 undergraduates this fall, forging a digital direct line between students and advisers.

TerpEngage Advising is just one of several projects emerging from TerpEngage, the university’s new constituent relationship management (CRM) system. Used prolifically in the business world, and increasingly in academic settings, constituent relationship management uses data-driven technology to manage and improve relationships with an institution’s constituents.

Launched through UMD’s Administrative Modernization Program (AMP), TerpEngage will connect and streamline many processes across campus that serve students, faculty, alumni, parents and prospective donors.

TerpEngage provides real-time information on each individual in the university community, including their affiliation, interests and courses of study, as well as interactions with the university, such as participation in a recruitment or special event. This 360-degree view will provide more personalized interactions and better service, while cutting the day-to-day paperwork and duplication that can bog down staff.

“The landscape of higher education is rapidly changing,” said Cynthia Hale, associate vice president for finance and personnel. “At UMD, we are committed to implementing the best and most modern systems to assure our students have an exceptional experience, and to effectively support the work of our staff and faculty.”  

Among other TerpEngage projects in progress is a development tool that ties the lifecycle of each individual—from interested high schooler to alum—by integrating data from Advance, the university’s donor database, and an enrollment management tool that will offer more seamless engagement with prospective students.

Currently, undergraduates in Letters and Sciences and the following schools and colleges are using the advising tool: A. James Clark School of Engineering; College of Behavioral and Social Sciences; College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences; College of Information Studies; and Robert H. Smith School of Business. It will available to every undergraduate student by May 2020.

TerpEngage project managers are working closely with the campus community to identify other opportunities, such as consolidating test scores, financial aid and event management.  

“We operate on a very large campus where oftentimes, people are working in isolation, despite having the same goal,” said Priti Pamnani, enterprise CRM owner in the provost’s office. “A system like TerpEngage can help break down those silos and connect every aspect of a student’s experience. This will save us time, greatly simplify the different processes on campus, and deliver a higher level of service and experience.”