Is Your Higher Ed CRM Compliant- What Every Enrollment Head Should Know

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Is Your Higher Ed CRM Compliant? What Every
Enrollment Head Should Know

• Is your higher ed CRM putting you at legal risk?
  Find out if your CRM can help you attract new
  students without violating the latest
  regulations.
• The difference between a CRM that allows you to
  confidently enroll thousands more students each
  year and a CRM that costs you thousands of
  dollars in regulatory fines lies in one simple
  word 
• Compliance.

A compliant higher ed CRM will help you recruit
and enroll hundreds of new students month after
month, while ensuring that every interaction
between your staff, students, and applicants
stays well within the current regulatory
requirements. But unfortunately, not at all CRMs
care about compliance.
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• So, how do you know which CRM will bring you more
  students, and which one will put you at risk?
• In this article, well review the major
  compliance requirements for education
  organizations and show you exactly which CRM
  features you need to help your recruiters and
  staff stay compliant no matter what. 
• Table of Contents
• Why A Compliant CRM Is So Important In Higher
  Education
• Compliant CRM Check 1 Federal and
  Provider-Based Marketing Regulations
• Compliant CRM Check 2 Misrepresentation
  Policies
• Compliant CRM Check 3 Verification Policy
• Compliant CRM Check 4 Student Discrimination
  Regulations
• Compliant CRM Check 5 Student Data Privacy
• Compliant CRM Check 6 GDPR and International
  Student Admissions Compliance
• Will Your CRM Be Compliant Tomorrow?

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Why A Compliant CRM Is So Important In Higher
Education There are at least 281
education-related regulations in the US alone. As
if that werent enough, there are numerous other
telemarketing rules and guidelines that regulate
how recruiters contact potential students via
phone, email and SMS. Higher education
universities that recruit students need to follow
them all.  Here are just a few of the
repercussions you could face due to
non-compliance Hefty Fines. Do Not Call
Registry violations and robocalls can amount to
10,000 fines per call, with some companies being
sued for millions. Government Funding
Withdrawal. Student privacy data violations can
result in withdrawal of government
funding.  Fewer students enrolled. Higher ed
organizations become so overwhelmed and confused
about compliance regs, it paralyzes their
recruitment process and enrollment suffers.
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That last item is perhaps the biggest drawback.
With so many regulations in place, universities
and privately held higher ed organizations are
understandably anxious about their recruitment
processesbut they dont have to be.  A robust,
reliable and compliant CRM can take a lot of the
weight off your shoulders so that you and your
entire admissions staff can safely, effectively
and confidently recruit more students for your
school. How exactly? Lets take a closer look at
the major regulations universities and colleges
need to comply with throughout the student
recruitment and admissions process, and how the
right CRM system can help you stay legit, no
matter how big your enrollment goals
are.  Compliant CRM Check 1 Federal and
Provider-Based Marketing Regulations Some higher
ed CRM vendors heavily market themselves by
promising unlimited texting, emailing, robocalls,
and omni-channel dialing. And while the promise
of unlimited anything always sounds great in
theory, a total disregard of compliance practices
can quickly put your entire organization at
risk. 
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As soon as your recruiters pick up their phones
and start calling prospective students, this
activity falls under the purview of at least two
different federal commissions the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), and the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC).  Add to that regulations
for SMS and email marketing, and youll soon find
yourself in a complex world of telemarketing
compliance rules where one seemingly minor
misdeed can cost thousands or even millions of
dollars in penalties.  If your school is a
non-profit organization, you are likely exempt
from most telemarketing regulations. But for many
proprietary colleges and privately held higher
eds, youll need to pay close attention to make
sure your CRM is compliant with FCC and FTC
regulations. Heres what to keep in mind in
order to keep your enrollment marketing
compliant
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• Pre-recorded promotional calls (a.k.a. robocalls)
  are banned unless you have a prior written
  consent from a receiving party
• Promotional SMS texts require prior written
  consent in cases where you have had no previous
  interactions with a potential applicant
• The Do Not Call registry applies to for-profit
  entities, but doesnt apply to non-profit
  universities
• The FCC has established strict timelines for all
  marketing-related calls and texts between 8 am
  and 9 pm
• Telecom providers have their own guidelines
  recruiters need to follow. If you do not follow
  these guidelines, providers can flag phone
  numbers and web domains and block all outbound
  text messages and emails.
• Important if a contact has already reached out
  to your organization and you use email, text, and
  phone calls to nurture that existing
  relationship, that does not qualify as a
  telemarketing activity and therefore is not
  subject to penalties. 
• It can often feel impossible to navigate the
  complex web of telemarketing regulations,
  especially considering that every regulatory
  entity rarely coordinates their efforts with
  others. Fortunately, a smart, compliant CRM can
  do most of the hard work for you.

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How Shape CRM Helps Keep Enrollment Marketing
Compliant At Shape, we always aim to keep pace
with the latest FCC, FTC and provider based
compliance regulations to ensure that all your
universitys prospecting and lead nurturing
efforts stay compliant. Heres how we build
compliance into the Shape CRM for higher
ed Compliance-proof functionality Shape
automatically notifies you if certain hidden
limits imposed by providers have been reached.
For example, Shape automatically cuts off texting
functionality for any number that sends more than
95 messages in a day so that the number wont be
flagged as a fraud by your network
provider.  Automated routing rules Using our
advanced lead prioritization system, Shape makes
sure your recruiters only call students and
applicants at the most appropriate time. It takes
into account time zones, applicant interaction
history, as well as 26 other factors to ensure
your recruiters have the highest rate of
success. Pre-built templates With optimized
templates and scripts for texts, emails, and
phone calls, you can be sure your recruiters stay
compliant during every interaction with new or
potential applicants and students.
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• Compliant CRM Check 2 Misrepresentation
  Policies
• According to the final program integrity
  regulations, every university is held responsible
  in cases where it provided deceptive or
  misleading information to applicants and
  studentsand the fines may add up to millions of
  dollars.
• This applies equally to educational programs,
  marketing campaigns, advertising, and recruiting
  efforts. That is just part of the reason its so
  crucial for universities to have all their
  marketing campaigns and recruiting communications
  in one trackable place.
• How Shape Helps Universities Avoid
  Misrepresentation
• The right CRM system will serve as a central hub
  for all communications between recruiters and
  prospects across your marketing, recruitment and
  enrollment channels. 
• With the right CRM in place, higher education
  recruiters can
• Track and analyze every interaction with
  applicants from one place. Recruiters can easily
  see every interaction with applicants from start
  to finish, instantly tracking down any issues
  that may arise during the recruitment process.

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• Ensure the same high-quality standard across all
  channels of communication. With pre-customized
  templates and call scripts, recruiters can ensure
  their communication is compliant across all
  channels and departments. 
• Monitor lead sources. Education recruiters know
  exactly which marketing campaign or advertisement
  attracted a student or applicant and can further
  review and clarify any statements that were made
  prior to making contact.

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Compliant CRM Check 3 Verification
Policy Running background checks on applicants
isnt something you do for the fun of it. The
fact is, youre required to by law. For example,
when an institution has doubts about the origin
or validity of an applicants high school
diploma, the 2011 Higher Education Act requires
the university to have an established evaluation
procedure in place to verify the applicants
credentials. Although necessary, this brings an
additional layer of complexity to the recruitment
process, making it a longer, more admin-heavy
processand one with much more room for
error.  The good news is, a well-optimized CRM
can help simplify this process, making it easy to
track the status of every applicant and
accelerate the verification process to keep your
enrollment pipeline moving.
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How Shape Streamlines The Verification
Process Shape features a comprehensive Status
feature to help higher eds track every step of
the students admission process. Statuses can be
created and customized to the needs of every
particular university, so you can see at a glance
which applicants need your attention. A CRM with
smart Status automations has at least two main
advantages Easily track the status of every
applicant. All admissions professionals and
recruiters can track and manage the status of
every student and applicant in a single system,
reducing the amount of duplicate operations and
accelerating the overall pipeline. Trigger
automatic events based on status changes. For
example, as soon as an applicant receives a
status Pending verification, they receive an
email requesting additional details, or a
recruiter receives notification to contact the
applicant. 
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Compliant CRM Check 4 Student Discrimination
Regulations There are several regulations and
laws that protect students from discrimination
based on age, gender, race, and disability. And
for good reason. With the growing number of
high-profile discrimination lawsuits,
universities and higher ed organizations must
ensure they never discriminate against students
across any communication channel throughout their
entire learning lifecycle from admission to
graduation. Problem is, discrimination often
happens unknowingly. How Shape Can Help Prevent
Student Discrimination Using Shapes pre-built
customizable templates for both email and text,
educational organizations can ensure their staff
workers are always using compliant, appropriate
language at every step of an applicants
enrollment journey. Here are two ways to help
ensure your enrollment communication is
anti-discriminatory
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1. Establish communication guidelines for staff
   workers. The way your staff communicates is
   crucial. There is a big difference between the
   questions How old are you? and Are you at
   least 18 years of age? 
2. Easily adapt to regulatory changes. Ethics and
   discrimination guidelines are constantly being
   updated. With compliant templates in one place,
   you can instantly update email, text, and phone
   communications across departments without having
   to pause your enrollment efforts.

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Compliant CRM Check 5 Student Data
Privacy Student data privacy concerns are
growing every year.  Currently, there are two
federal laws that govern student data protection
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
(FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights
Amendment (PPRA). Both laws place firm
restraints around the educational data or
sensitive student information that a university
or higher ed organization can share without the
students explicit consent.  Despite these
regulations, a growing amount of data breaches in
the education sector is forcing universities to
take a hard look at their security policies and
the software they use. This is where the security
of your CRM becomes a critical issue.  How Shape
Helps Protect Student Data Every CRM vendor
claims security is a top priority but at Shape,
we take our security efforts to the next level.
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Our infrastructure involves four distinct tiers
of security

• Physical Security Guarded data centers located
  in some of the most secure facilities at
  undisclosed locations
• Network Security Our provider network is gated
  and screened by highly powerful and certified
  Intrusion Detection / Intrusion Prevention Systems

• Staff Processes Shape includes complete access
  control with regular security audits and updates
• Redundancy Our security process is designed to
  protect your data even during system failures

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• Compliant CRM Check 6 GDPR and International
  Student Admissions Compliance
• In 2018, the European Union released the General
  Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With fines up
  to 500,000, universities and higher ed
  organizations must pay extra close attention to
  how they protect the personal data and privacy of
  every european student they recruit.
• Here are just some of the items that must be on
  your GDPR compliance checklist
• Ask for student consent when you start processing
  their information
• Allow students to easily request access to their
  personal information
• Automatically delete student data when your
  organization has no more use for it
• Enable students and prospect to easily update
  their data to keep it up-to-date
• Inform students whenever your institution updates
  its privacy policy

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Its a lot to keep track of, and it doesn't help
that during the enrollment process recruiters can
collect hundreds, if not thousands, of
prospective applicant data. Typically, this data
is then dispersed across different services,
software tools, and paper documents.  All that
chaos makes following GDPR requirements virtually
impossible. Unless, you have the right tools in
place. How Shape Helps With GDPR
Compliance Heres how Shape helps universities
stay GDPR-compliant while they actively recruit
EU-based applicants Store all applicant
recruitment data in one place. With a
bidirectional API integration with your SIS,
Shape allows recruiters and education
administrators to easily add, update, or delete
student data everywhere in real time. Easily
control who has access to student data. Managers
can set up user roles and permissions to control
how much student data each staff worker can
access.
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Automatically inform students about policies and
updates. Set up drip campaigns and automatic
triggers to instantly broadcast any changes in
your data and privacy policies to your students
and applicants. Integrate Shape with SIS/LMS
software. Easily manage and update student data
across the entire campus from one centralized
platform.
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Will Your CRM Be Compliant Tomorrow? Lets go
with the best case scenario and say your CRM
checks all the compliance boxes. It allows you to
safely attract new students, while following all
the major regulations from federal bodies,
telecom providers and your state education
department. The next question is  As
regulations change, will your CRM stay
compliant? New marketing technologies are
emerging every dayand so are the regulations
that aim to guide and control them.  At Shape,
we closely monitor regulatory trends in higher
education and regularly update our features,
security infrastructure and support guidelines to
keep our users compliant. If you want to reach
your maximum potential in attracting new
students, without putting your organization at
risk, try Shape for free for 14 days and see for
yourself how easy it can be to keep your
organization compliant. 
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With Shape, there are no hidden fees. Attract
more students and stay compliant with the only
CRM designed specifically for higher ed
organizations with big ambitions. Article
Source- https//setshape.com/blog/is-your-higher-
ed-crm-compliant-what-every-enrollment-head-should
-know