How To Wow Your Students for Lifelong Success

Dreamforce was back in person and online this year! The Salesforce for Education keynote team was so excited (see post-education keynote excitement photo below!) to connect with the community and share stories of inspiration, innovation, and impact. Our mission is to help institutions around the world build for the future of education, and “wow” every single student for lifelong success. Keep reading to learn how!

1. Dig into the data

According to the third edition of our next Connected Student Report coming on October 6th (mark your calendars), students said they want to feel a sense of belonging on campus, be lifelong learners, and expect their institution to care for their wellbeing. What stood out to us was that students want to invest in an educational experience that has a return in the form of long-term employability. The survey found that 47% of enrolling students said “future career prospects” were key in deciding what college or university was right for them. Even more, insights can help institutional leaders understand the changing expectations of students and staff and uncover new opportunities to build for the future of education. 

2. Take inspiration from USC Annenberg and the Queensland University of Technology

On our keynote stage, we shared the stories of two Trailblazers working tirelessly to wow their students for success. USC Annenberg is inspiring and accelerating student and alumni career success for the future of work, and in collaboration with Salesforce, created Annenberg Insights. It’s a solution designed to capture all student and alumni data in one place and combine it with external labor market data to fuel predictive analytics about industry needs and in-demand skill sets. It was an honor to include the voices of USC Annenberg’s Dean Willow Bay and Associate CIO Charles Peyton — we were all left feeling very inspired!

And it was again our honor to share the story of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT). QUT is inspiring lifelong learning and creating impact through digital transformation for its 50k+ students. Robina Xavier, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Vice President (Academic), and James Rail, Program Manager for Digital Connections, are incredibly passionate about recognizing each student as an individual and helping them build transferable skills for the real world. Check out our exclusive interview with the QUT team on Salesforce+!

3. Have a look at our Winter ‘23 release goodness

During the education keynote, Our VP & GM, Education Product Management, Balakrishnan Subramanian, shared how we want to bring the full power of the newly announced Salesforce Genie to provide automation and intelligence in real-time to help institutions deliver holistic and personalized student engagement and support.

We introduced new features into Salesforce for Education offerings, including ways to use automation to empower staff, deliver personalization at scale for students with Student Success Hub, and boost productivity for staff using Slack.  

• Data Mover – Easily bring external data into the Education Data Architecture (EDA) and Student Success Hub with ready-to-use importing, custom mapping, and duplication prevention logic. (GA Winter ‘23)
• Guidance Center for Student Success Hub – Admins get onboarding support with step-by-step instructions and resources to set up Student Success Hub quickly and easily. (GA Winter ‘23)
• Omnistudio for Admissions Connect – Drag-and-drop experiences for creating consumer-grade applicant-facing forms that connect in real-time with Salesforce and non-Salesforce systems on the back end. (GA)
• Appointment Booking Enhancements in Student Success Hub – Students can add notes when scheduling appointments so faculty and advising staff can be well prepared to personalize the advice. (GA Winter ‘23)
• Case Swarming in Slack – Bring the collective expertise of your institution to support students in your one-stops and for student-centric careers support (GA). See our keynote demo on Salesforce+!

4. Binge watch education sessions on Salesforce+

While there is a lot on TV that you could be watching right now (I recently binge watched Ted Lasso, and am now onto Trying), check out our education sessions on Salesforce+. We would not be here without the amazing work of our education community, some of which are available on-demand. I would highly recommend Transforming Your Alumni Experience, where you can hear how the Indiana University Foundation and Alumni Association designed an “Amazon-like” approach to advancement.

And speaking of our wonderful community, we awarded one of our many education superheroes with a GOLDEN HOODIE! It was a joy to recognize Kathy Lueckeman, who has devoted herself to the success of the education community from the very beginning — see the “golden” moment on Salesforce+, and congratulations again, Kathy!