Case Study: Northwestern University improves alumni address accuracy and cuts returned mail with Experian

Northwestern University improves alumni databases with address validation

Northwestern University’s Gift and Records Services manages an Ellucian Advance database of more than 300,000 alumni and constituents, and struggled with inaccurate, outdated addresses, high volumes of returned mail, and slow, error-prone data entry—issues that increased costs and risked damaging relationships with donors and recent graduates.

The team implemented Experian’s QAS Pro to validate and auto-format addresses against USPS records directly within the Advance workflow. The out-of-the-box install took under 30 minutes, cut keystrokes by up to 75% and saved about one minute per record, reduced human error and returned mail, and made staff workflows faster and more reliable, improving alumni communications.

Northwestern University

Becki Randall

Director of Gift and Records Services