With a busy first half of 2024 in the rear-view mirror, the project team for the Cornerstone initiative’s Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) project, known as “Scarlet Journey”—is reflecting on the list of their recent accomplishments.
After helping with the transition to the Common Application in August 2023—a change that led to Rutgers receiving a record-breaking 220,000 undergraduate applications in academic year 2023-24—the Scarlet Journey project team has continued to make enhancements to expand the way the university uses the Common App.
Ahead of the August 1 opening of this year’s application, for example, the team implemented changes that include allowing transfer students to submit a Self-Reported Academic Record.
Other recent Scarlet Journey work in 2024 includes:
- Integrating the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine into the Salesforce system.
- Instituting an automatic application fee waiver for Rutgers alumni
- Creating an automatic update for student applicants’ visa status, once specific criteria are met.
In addition, the project team played a role in Rutgers University Foundation’s launch of a new communications tool and online giving platform that includes content that previously existed on four separate online giving websites. The new unified giving platform features a 30-second gift checkout process, integrated digital wallets, and a widget to facilitate the use of matching gift programs.
These efforts have led to a more than 250 percent increase in alumni engagement and a 20 percent boost in the size of the average online donation received by the university. The Foundation team is actively working on launching Phase II of the CRM implementation for this fall, which will include adding a data connection to the communications tool.
As the new academic year gets underway, the Scarlet Journey team also is working on additional improvements designed to improve students’ experience. Some of these plans include:
- Automated review of residency requirements for Rutgers’ Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF).
- Added fields—including “preferred name” and “personal email”—in application forms.
- Continued requirements discussions with Rutgers Law School in preparation for adding the school to the Salesforce system.
- Integration of Rutgers’ new student call center, Five9, into Salesforce.
“It’s a busy time and there’s a lot of work to be done,” says JoAnn Molnar, project manager for Scarlet Journey. “We’re committed to making decisions and taking actions that help our students.”