Case study · Higher education
From first enquiry to enrolment, one journey
Universities talk to prospective students for months before they enrol, across events, emails and applications. This is how we ran that journey in Dynamics 365, so admissions teams know where every applicant is and what to send next.
Project overview
Student recruitment on Dynamics 365.
- Industry
- Higher education
- Client
- Confidential
- Solution
- Admissions CRM
- Platform
- Dynamics 365 + Customer Insights
- Timeline
- 14–22 weeks
- Team
- 5 people
- Integrations
- Student record system, applications portal
- Channels
- Email, SMS, events
- Users
- Admissions, marketing, faculties
Expected business outcomes
What the client set out to achieve
Conversion from offer to enrolment is where recruitment is won.
-
3–8 pts
Higher offer-to-enrolment conversion
Offer holders receive timely, relevant messages instead of generic mailings.
Percentage-point range; depends on the course mix
-
One
View of each applicant
Enquiries, events attended and application status on one record.
Where the student record system is integrated
-
30–50%
Less manual list-building
Segments update themselves from application status.
Target range for teams previously exporting lists weekly
Business challenges
How recruitment worked before
Marketing, admissions and faculties each hold part of the picture.
Enquiries
Captured on web forms and at events, then entered into spreadsheets.
Events
Open day bookings in a separate tool with no link to applications.
Applications
Status held in the student record system, which marketing can't see.
Communication
Mass emails from a marketing tool, sent to lists exported each week.
Reporting
Conversion by course is calculated manually at the end of the cycle.
Proposed solution
What the Dynamics 365 build covers
CRM and marketing automation together, connected to the student record system.
-
Prospect records
Every enquirer with interests, source and consent, from first contact onwards.
-
Events
Open days and webinars with registration, reminders and attendance tracking.
-
Application sync
Application and offer status synchronised from the student record system.
-
Journeys
Automated email and SMS journeys by course, stage and applicant type.
-
Faculty views
Faculties see their applicants and can add personal contact.
-
Funnel reporting
Enquiry to enrolment conversion by course, source and campaign.
Project requirements
What the client asked us for
The request was a single view of the applicant. The value is in timing: the right message when an applicant receives an offer, not in next month's newsletter.
Consent and data protection are designed in from the start, because student recruitment involves young people and many countries.
What the project had to deliver
- 01One record from enquiry to enrolment
- 02Journeys triggered by application status
- 03Events linked to outcomes
- 04Funnel reporting by course
Key challenges & considerations
What made it harder, and what we did
-
Student record systems with limited APIs
What we did
The student record system was integrated through scheduled exchanges where its API was limited.
-
Different processes per faculty
What we did
A shared core process was agreed across faculties, with variations kept to where they were needed.
-
International applicants and consent rules
What we did
Consent was captured per purpose and per region from the first enquiry.
-
Peak volumes at results time
What we did
Journeys and queues were tested against results-day volumes before the recruitment cycle began.
What we watched for
- Design consent in from the start
- Time go-live before a recruitment cycle
- Keep faculty processes consistent where possible
- Test journeys with real application scenarios
Development process
Built around the recruitment cycle
Go-live is timed so a full cycle runs on the new system.
-
Journey mapping
Every stage from enquiry to enrolment mapped with admissions and marketing.
-
Integration
Student record system integration for applications and offers.
-
Events and enquiries
Enquiry capture and event management live first.
-
Journeys
Offer-holder journeys built and tested with real scenarios.
-
Reporting and faculties
Funnel dashboards and faculty access rolled out.
Technology stack
Dynamics 365 for student recruitment
Microsoft's CRM and marketing tools, integrated with the student record system.
CRM
- Dynamics 365 Sales
- Dataverse
Marketing
- Customer Insights – Journeys
- Event management
- SMS
Integration
- Student record system API
- Power Automate
- Azure integration
Reporting
- Power BI
- Funnel analytics
Quality assurance & deployment
Tested by the people who use it every day
A CRM succeeds when people choose to use it. Every process was tested with real users on real scenarios, and data migration was rehearsed until the record counts agreed.
- Scenario testing with users from each role
- Migration rehearsals, with record counts reconciled
- Integration tests for every connected system
- Security roles checked against real job roles
- Solutions moved between environments as managed releases
Deployment
- 01JourneysOffer-holder journeys built and tested with real scenarios.
- 02Reporting and facultiesFunnel dashboards and faculty access rolled out.
- 03Phased go-liveOne team or region first, then the rest, each wave with training by role.
- 04Hypercare and warrantyDaily support through the first weeks, and six months of free bug fixing.
Final deliverables
Every applicant on a clear path
Admissions teams see every applicant's journey on one record, and offer holders receive timely, relevant messages that keep them engaged until enrolment.
Marketing can see which events and campaigns lead to enrolments, not just enquiries.
- One view of each applicant
- Status-triggered journeys
- Events linked to outcomes
- Conversion by course and source
Handed over to the client
- 01Configured Dynamics 365Production and test environments
- 02Solutions and integrationsAs managed, documented releases
- 03Migrated dataWith record counts reconciled
- 04Training by roleWith short guides
- 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery
Success metrics
How success is measured
| Measure | Outcome | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Higher offer-to-enrolment conversion | 3–8 pts | Percentage-point range; depends on the course mix |
| View of each applicant | One | Where the student record system is integrated |
| Less manual list-building | 30–50% | Target range for teams previously exporting lists weekly |
Verified reviews
What clients say about our Dynamics work
Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.
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Jon Thies
CTO, Model Rocket Feb 2022 – Mar 2023
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Custom Software Development
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Silver Scintilla was responsive, respectful, and enjoyable to work with, quickly addressing any questions or requests.
DeShawn Brown
CEO & Founder, Lithios Jun 2021 – Nov 2022
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Custom Software Development
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Silver Scintilla provided the best solution with scalable functionality, personalized features, and robust security.
Suheb Khan
Director, Collaborative Insight Technologies Jul 2020 – Jun 2022
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