Case Study: American University boosts enrollment, student success, and fundraising with Ellucian CRM Suite

American University implements Ellucian CRM to meet its recruitment, retention, and advancement goals

American University in Washington, D.C., faced declining graduate recruitment and broader challenges in enrollment, retention, graduation, and fundraising. To address these priorities, the university selected Ellucian and its Ellucian CRM Suite (including CRM Recruit and CRM Advise) to provide a unified CRM across admissions, student success, and advancement.

Ellucian implemented the CRM Suite across graduate programs first and has expanded it to undergraduate recruitment, advising, and advancement, integrating it with the university ERP for a one‑stop solution. As a result of Ellucian’s deployment, American University recovered graduate enrollment within a few years, transformed advising with risk alerts to boost retention, and improved fundraising reporting and access—delivering measurable gains and strong stakeholder endorsement.

American University

Dave Swartz

Vice President and Chief Information Officer