Oklahoma State University using new software to enhance relationships

Monday, July 12, 2021

Media Contact: Jonathan Johnson | Communications Coordinator, Transition and Retention | 405-744-3134 | jonathan.i.johnson@okstate.edu

Students at Oklahoma State University are more than just a number.

As OSU has seen enrollment boom, it's vital that we support and reach our growing student population to ensure a high level of student engagement is maintained. We're meeting this goal with Slate, a customer relationship management software.

“A top initiative of mine for us as a university is taking care of our students, ensuring they remain engaged and complete their degrees,” President Kayse Shrum said. “Retention strategies that help us stay connected with them both inside and outside the classroom are vital to helping them make the most of their university experience. Getting this CRM effort moving at the beginning of my presidency was a priority.”

Currently Slate is only being used to manage admissions but with this new model it will now be used to support students through the entire OSU lifecycle — from prospective student to alum.

Built specifically for higher education, Slate provides a single, unified platform for communications, applications, online reading, student success and retention, and alumni and donor engagement.

“Through the Office of First Year Success, we have a variety of programs to help freshmen, transfer students and international students have a successful launch at OSU,” said Karen Chen, interim vice president of enrollment management. “I applaud our leadership for recognizing the value of a software tool like a CRM to guide our interactions with current students, just like we do with prospective students.”  

OSU will use Slate’s unified platform to enhance relationships with students and alumni, rounding the Cowboy family into an even tighter group. Slate’s data will help OSU as it continues to expand and modernize the land-grant mission.

“Data is a powerful tool to help inform our decision making here at OSU,” said Dr. Christie Hawkins, associate vice president of administration and finance, and director of Institutional Research and Analytics. “Using a CRM to better track our communications to and engagement with all our students is an exciting step to boost our retention numbers.

“Both keeping our students engaged and reaching their academic goals are vitally important for them and for the university.”