RFP : CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ( CRM ) PLATFORM

2026-11-03

General RequirementsThe selected vendor shall provide a cloud - based Customer Relationship Management ( CRM ) platform that can be configured for evolving community college needs and is compliant with FERPA , WCAG 2 . 2 Level AA , HIPAA , and GDPR . The platform must support both credit and non - credit ( continuing education and workforce development ) student populations . This CRM shall provide : Integrate with the College ’ s existing Oracle PeopleSoft Student Information System ( SIS ) ( e . g ., admissions , financial aid , and registrar ), Brightspace Learning Management System ( LMS ), Simplicity Accommodate , Starfish student alert platform , ComEvo , Maxient , Chat Ivy Chatbot , and WordPress . Provide secure , role - based access controls to ensure appropriate data security and privacy . Include configurable dashboards , reports , and analytics to enable data - driven decision - making . Support bidirectional integration with institutional systems to ensure data consistency and real - time updates across platforms . Enable personalized brand configuration , allowing the College to align system interfaces , templates , and communications with institutional branding standards . Technical RequirementsSupport standard integration protocols and data exchange formats , including REST , SOAP , SFTP , and CSV . Provide Single Sign - On ( SSO ) via the College ’ s authentication system to streamline user access . Include user - defined field parameters to enable flexible , customized data capture aligned with institutional needs . Incorporate address verification tools to validate and standardize contact information for accuracy . Incorporate mobile or SMS - enabled phone number verification to maintain accurate contact information . Provide a data reconciliation and deduplication pipeline to prevent redundant records and maintain ongoing data integrity . Enabling data duplication and reconciliation to maintain a clean , accurate prospective student database . Enable seamless updates between the CRM and SIS through bi - directional data synchronization , ensuring both systems maintain consistent , accurate records . Mobile application or mobile - responsive access for staff and students . Support both email and SMS messaging directly within the platform . Business Functional RequirementsProvide branded communication templates that align with the College ’ s institutional identity and visual standards . Include reusable templates with personalization capabilities to ensure consistent , targeted messaging . Include selective purge functionality for SIS - linked or imported records to maintain data accuracy , security , and compliance with retention policies . Support multi - email address capability to maintain multiple contact points for students and stakeholders ( e . g ., personal , work , and institutional email addresses ) Support multi - email address management for accurate routing of communications to multiple addresses per contact . Maintain a comprehensive record of all interactions with prospective and enrolled students , including meetings , calls , emails , text messages , and staff notes . Support both one - to - one and one - to - many communication across departments . Allow segmentation and filtering of contact lists by program of study , enrollment status , demographics , engagement level , and other relevant attributes . Provide configurable workflows and automations to streamline student recruitment , advising , and retention . Allow users to define and modify data fields and workflows to support evolving institutional processes . Enable automated communication workflows , including drip campaigns and nurture sequences for prospective and returning students . Track delivery , open , click , and response metrics to assess communication effectiveness . Allow authorized users to send messages directly from within the CRM interface without using external email clients . Managing inquiries , leads , and applicant records through customizable pipelines . Supporting web - based forms for event registration , information requests , and applications . Providing event management functionality for open houses , campus tours , and orientations . Integration with alumni engagement and donor management systems . Support both automated and manual assignment and tracking of advisors , counselors , and success navigators . Allow documentation of advising interactions , appointment notes , and student interventions . Include early - alert capabilities to identify and support at - risk students . Provide task management and collaboration tools to support coordinated student support across departments . Integrate advising and success data with SIS and communication tools via bi - directional synchronization . Facilitate the management of both scheduled and walk - in appointments with providers , including the ability to document meeting outcomes . Notify faculty that a grade roster is missing . Notify faculty that an attendance roster is missing . Student Functional RequirementsOne email with a living checklist of onboarding steps that updates and provides completion guidance . Track payment status to remind students to make payments and prevent their classes from being dropped . Track tuition balances to remind students to obtain their Certificate of Residence . Real - time , two - way communication that is documented and preserved . A central place for students to track their application status and next steps . View documents and emails sent to students . Notify new transfer students that we are missing their official transcripts . Let students know that new transfer credit has been added to their records . Notify recent graduates that their degree has been posted and that a diploma has been ordered . Confirmation that a student has successfully applied to graduate . Let students know that they have been reported as never having attended a class . Notify the student that an I grade has been assigned . Notice to students that a 12 - or 7 . 5 - week class is about to begin . Confirms that a course transaction has occurred . Students receive a timely , relevant reply after submitting a form — starting with contact from someone in their program of interest . Students continue to receive helpful nudges and support even after enrolling , including reminders about advising , tuition , and events . Students feel confident they ’ re receiving genuine messages from the college because communication is clear , professional , and consistent . Allow students to text their counselor directly to ask a question or seek support . Allow students to reply to mass or individual counselor texts . Ability to have students schedule appointments with their counselors through this single platform . Reporting RequirementsThe CRM shall include a comprehensive suite of reporting and analytics capabilities , including the following : Real - time dashboards that display recruitment , communication , and retention metrics . Predictive analytics and AI - driven insights to support student success and enrollment . Provide an AI - powered chatbot that resides on the college ’ s website and can provide real - time answers by crawling the website , interacting with the SIS ( utilizing SSO ), and accessing manually uploaded information . Customizable reporting tools that enable users to build and export reports using user - defined parameters . Data export functionality to support institutional research and compliance reporting . Communication analytics for evaluating campaign performance and engagement . Data integrity reporting tools that identify duplicates , incomplete records , and integration errors . Audit logs and data change tracking for accountability and compliance . See more

New York

2026-05-05