Case Study: Franklin University achieves record retention and increased enrollment with Anthology CRM

Franklin University Winner of Campus Management’s Excellence Award for Student Success

Franklin University, a private nonprofit serving nearly 10,000 adult learners, faced the ongoing challenge of improving student engagement, retention and graduation rates amid broader declines in higher education enrollment. A longtime client of Anthology, Franklin launched lead-prioritization and a Student Engagement Lifecycle initiative using Anthology’s CRM solution and professional services to help admissions rank prospects more strategically and give student‑facing staff more time for proactive engagement.

Anthology’s CRM-driven approach produced measurable gains: successful contact rates rose 14%, winter 2015 new enrollments exceeded forecasts (undergraduate +16%, graduate +54%, overall +6%), application conversion time fell by 8%, and time from initial contact to registration decreased by 4%. Within six months the Student Engagement Lifecycle helped Franklin achieve its highest undergraduate retention since 2008, nearly a 4% increase in new students returning for a second term and a 3.5% decrease in full-term dropouts — results that earned Franklin Anthology’s 2015 Excellence Award for Student Success.

Franklin University