Transforming Student Success with Salesforce Integration
institutional profile
Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana’s statewide community college system, offering affordable, career-focused certificates and associate degrees across multiple campuses and online. Partnering with employers and universities, Ivy Tech provides workforce-aligned programs, transfer pathways, and wraparound student support to advance economic mobility and community prosperity.
Challenge
Disconnected Systems: Staff had to switch between multiple platforms (Salesforce, Canvas, Starfish), creating inefficiencies and data silos.
Lack of Integration: Advisors and faculty were not connected to the main Salesforce system, making centralized tracking of student progress and communication difficult.
Cultural Alignment Challenge: Initial communication barriers arose as institutional teams adjusted to new workflows and collaboration styles that come with engaging an external partner.
Unclear Requirements: Early in the project, ownership and understanding of requirements and acceptance criteria were not well-defined.
Training & Change Management Needs: Comprehensive training and structured change management were essential to ensure adoption of new workflows and technology.
The Solution
Deep Institutional Alignment: Brought in a SIG architect with extensive Salesforce experience to build trust and tailor design decisions to Ivy Tech’s environment.
Salesforce Student Success Hub Buildout: Centralized student profiles, advising notes, success plans, alerts, and appointment scheduling within Salesforce. Established a single system of action so advisors can track progress and intervene early—without switching tools.
Collaborative Delivery Model: Paired Ivy Tech and SIG PMs/developers with clear communication cadences and decision logs. Shifted from vendor-authored user stories to a collaborative approach with Ivy Tech product owners defining acceptance criteria.
Training & Enablement at Scale: Ran “Train-the-Trainer” sessions to empower campus SMEs. Produced step-by-step documentation and recorded all trainings for reuse.
Responsive Support Culture: Named SIG points of contact who prioritized rapid responses and after-hours help during critical milestones.
Continuous Improvement: Instituted feedback loops (show-and-tells, retros, office hours) to quickly address issues and refine processes.
KEY OUTCOMES
Centralized Operations: Student, faculty, and advisor workflows unified in Salesforce—reducing swivel-chairing across systems.
Efficiency & Visibility: Advisors access complete, current information in one place; fewer handoffs and faster follow-through.
Stronger Communications: Clear, respectful collaboration between Ivy Tech and SIG cited as a success driver.
Sustainable Adoption: Train-the-Trainer model and robust documentation enable Ivy Tech to self-maintain and expand.
Positive Cultural Impact: Partnership described as a “win-win,” increasing confidence in future Salesforce-based initiatives.
Scalable Model: Playbook is replicable for other institutions pursuing student-success centralization in Salesforce.
Future Outlook
Ivy Tech will continue optimizing Student Success Hub and adjacent integrations, expanding alerts, success plans, and appointment workflows. Ivy Tech’s outcomes serve as a referenceable model for peer institutions considering similar transformations.
“I would absolutely recommend SIG. It wasn’t just about the work delivered — the trust and communication throughout the process made the results even stronger.”
— Jenn Warm, Assistant Vice President of CRM Operations, Ivy Tech Community College
