FormAssembly’s Simplicity Provides the Perfect Complement to Cal State East Bay’s CRM Overhaul

Case Study Snapshot

Prior to choosing an effective CRM platform, campus staff at Cal State East Bay spotted a gap in the school’s ability to collect and gather interested leads. With no way to track potential students, they knew they were missing out on the ability to capture new applicants. Alongside the school’s Salesforce adoption, FormAssembly became the vehicle by which staff could improve communication while tracking and processing new leads and applications.

About

• Operates as an extension school within Cal State East Bay.
• Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a Top 10 college for diversity in the west.
• Focuses on adult learning for mid-career individuals looking for change.
• Offers more than more than 40 degree and certificate programs.

Cal State East Bay’s journey to FormAssembly began with its Salesforce adoption. To make the entire CRM implementation process more streamlined, staff decided to fully change the look and functionality of their website in one concentrated initiative.

“FormAssembly came to the top of the list for a website form-builder that could make all these crazy connections between our website, all the forms we used, and Salesforce,” Bellone shared.

Before the adoption, they were dealing with high volumes of paper throughout various administrative processes, which included student applications.

“To make matters worse, we were using some archaic form builder,” Bellone said.

Cal State East Bay began working with FormAssembly in 2014 and has since created 129 forms. Campus forms include student-facing processes such as ‘Request More Info’ forms and program applications, in addition to internal forms that help improve correspondence between constituents.

Flow of Communication

Since implementing FormAssembly, Cal State East Bay has seen improved communication. The school’s web forms include built-in connectors that sync information to the main database, PeopleSoft, which provides real-time access to better student data.

“Collecting data through one set web form makes it easier when it comes to organizing incoming information. This allows us to use the same form for different programs,” Reynoso explained.

Additionally, FormAssembly opens the door for prospective students to ask more questions, which has a positive effect on starting conversations for future enrollments.

“People were wanting more information, wanting to ask questions, and didn’t have a way to do it before. Now, the power behind that is FormAssembly,” Bellone said.

Easy-to-Build Connectors

FormAssembly’s connectors make it easy for staff to keep information organized as it filters to Salesforce. As an added bonus, those who work directly with FormAssembly report that the setup for each integration is pain-free.

“Building the connectors within our forms is really simple,” Reynoso shared.

Eliminating Spam with Formulas

Because the campus uses FormAssembly to gather information from interested leads, spam maintenance is vital. Staff use conditional logic, date stamping, and formulas to keep spam entries in check.

Campus staff are hopeful that the current uses for FormAssembly are just the beginning. Many new uses are in the pilot stage, including a supplemental program application that may soon be expanded to degree programs.

For now, “We have FormAssembly really well-integrated,” Bellone said.

Whether it comes to tracking interested leads, enabling online registration, or handling internal requests, FormAssembly is a powerful solution for the most in-depth higher education data needs.