The Power of Integration - Administration Systems Databases and Portals.

All institutions use some sort of database to manage their clients, students and agents. This may be a cloud system, a Windows-based package or a series of spreadsheets (if so, please contact Intrinsiq for help right away!). All these are good ways to collect, store and edit information. 

Based upon our experience, international education providers have started small with this approach and just kept adding to it. With the array of great tech out there, they may not be taking full advantage of their information and allowing engagement with students, agents and potential clients.

Here is a basic approach that will allow any institution in the #intled sector get integrated. 

The Database

That’s pretty straightforward. We recommend a cloud-based solution to remove any need for infrastructure. Your spreadsheets or other systems are essentially a database which has either been defined by you or by your current supplier. What is more useful is that you manage to gain insights and  knowledge from your information. If you only have information on data e.g. there this a record with data on a particular student - it is not as useful as being able to generate reports and other metrics on multiple sets of data information, such as “show me all the Italian students that are interested in experience learning”.

Administration systems

An administration system, e.g. a CRM, can provide functionality and allows reporting on the information from a database. Generally speaking, a Management System will manage contact information. The real power comes with complete administration systems that can not only manage but also connect to multiple systems and seamlessly integrate with them. A good example is the integration between an admin system and a cloud-based accounts package - allowing the institution to effectively manage the student experience as well as financial information seamlessly across platforms.  Another example is a system that integrates with Google maps and displays location-based real-time information within the admin system.

Portals

Linked to your database, this is a web-based, user friendly way to collect as well as display information to authorised users on branded pages on your website. This can be used to collect information on potential students, allow agents to upload information, or even display statistics to parents. Yes, you guessed it, this is all linked, via the database, to your management system. Once information is collected on a web portal it will, via the database, be available to users of the administration system in the office. There are also powerful online payment systems that have portal integrations.

Using administration systems designed around your specific workflow, connected to one or more databases and integrated with web portals, your institution can use the information gathered and stored to produce powerful reporting as well as the ability to engage with target audiences to get your message out there; turning the information into real knowledge about your business.