Case Study: UMass Lowell achieves streamlined one-stop student services and 360-degree student visibility with Salesforce for Nonprofits

UMass Lowell uses Salesforce to Build ‘One-stop’ Center Improving Student Experience

UMass Lowell, a national research university of about 17,500 students that has grown nearly 50% since 2007, faced a common higher-education challenge: students needed to visit multiple offices to resolve registration, billing and financial aid issues, while the university struggled to track interactions across Financial Services, Financial Aid and the Registrar. Fragmented systems meant students often repeated explanations and staff lacked a complete view of each case.

To address this, the university created The Solution Center and implemented a Salesforce-based CRM combined with a line-queue management system and cross-trained specialists. All interactions are logged and viewable by staff, and integrations with email and phone give specialists context before picking up calls. Since opening in November 2014 the center has logged more than 192,000 interactions and resolved 111,000 cases in its first year, delivering a 360-degree view of students, faster service and a foundation for broader CRM initiatives across campus.

UMass Lowell

Kerry Donohoe

Dean of Academic Services and Registrar