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November 29, 2023

Eduvos simplifies student enrolment experience from 90 days to instant with Microsoft and Dynamics 365

“We were constantly developing actionable insights,” says Dr. Riaan Steenberg, Executive Director at Eduvos, a South African higher education institution that once grappled with a fragmented reporting landscape. The manual processes were transformed through Eduvos’ collaboration with Braintree by leveraging Dynamics 365 solutions. As a result, Eduvos has gained real-time insights, allowing it to run more smoothly and deliver more learning opportunities to students in South Africa. With Microsoft 365 and Azure, the institution also streamlined student interactions, from enrolment to course completion, thus bringing a more satisfying educational experience.

Eduvos

Eduvos roots trace back to 1979, when the visionary Computer Technology Institute was founded. Over the years Eduvos evolved into a South African higher education institution committed to facilitating self-education. “My partners and I have a grand vision for Africa—that the power of education can elevate the African continent to its full potential," shares Dr. Riaan Steenberg, Executive Director at Eduvos.  

In 2021, Eduvos took over the operations of a previous company and had 12 campuses to manage in South Africa. “This was a big step towards our vision, yet we faced a daunting 90-day window to transition away from the departing owner's systems,” recalls Dr. Steenberg. In education, sales, financial, and academic metrics must align to provide a cohesive view of each student. Eduvos’ ambitions for growth spurred the need to unify these elements into a single platform. “Our main obstacle was integration—without it, the different departments couldn’t communicate with each other, and we were constantly negotiating key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine the truth. Visibility, or the lack thereof, was the primary motivator to begin our digital transformation.”

“We were constantly negotiating KPIs and trying to determine the truth. Visibility, or the lack thereof, was the primary motivator to begin our digital transformation.”

Dr. Riaan Steenberg, Executive Director, Eduvos

Bridging the digital divide

Seeking an extensive transformation that would facilitate integration, Eduvos looked for solutions. Helping Eduvos along the way was Microsoft technology partner Braintree. “We knew that the change didn’t just involve the systems. We needed to find a path from the organization we were to the new entity we wanted to be, and Braintree team could guide us there," recalls Dr. Steenberg.

Eduvos chose to build the foundation of its operations on Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Azure. The institution now uses Dynamics 365 Marketing and Dynamics 365 Sales to streamline student enrolment, Dynamics 365 Customer Service for student management, Dynamics 365 Finance for financial processes, as well as Dynamics 365 Human Resources to handle employment matters. "Every facet of our student lifecycle is managed via Dynamics 365," says Dr. Steenberg. “As we grow, monitoring academic quality becomes even more crucial. With the integration Dynamics 365 gives us, we can ensure quality and avoid potential service challenges.”

Through this platform, Eduvos gathers vital insights from its websites and marketing, enabling it to establish a unified view of its customers and interactions with them. “Having this allows us to keep potential students informed as there’s a seamless transition between the marketing and sales teams,” shares Dr. Steenberg. “With omnichannel tools, we can interact with future students on different platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook, and maintain a record of inquiries to offer better service experience.” In addition, students also gain access to Microsoft 365, allowing them to access all required resources in almost real time.

Shifting from a traditional on-premises IT model to the Microsoft Azure cloud was also a big step forward for Eduvos in terms of security. “Educational institutions face a myriad of security challenges both internally and externally. However, partnering with Microsoft, which has a dedicated team of security professionals, offered us reassurance,” says Dr. Steenberg. “We undertook a security readiness assessment before the transition, more recently Eduvos improved the security score by 12%.”

Inspiring more minds to grow 

Within a remarkably short time, Eduvos gained the insights it needed to be the organization it sought to be. “Instead of cumbersome processes and conflicting KPIs presented by every team leading to weeks of reconciliation, we transitioned to data-driven discussions focused on planning and enhancing our educational offerings,” says Dr. Steenberg. “Things happen much faster now. Before, student enrolment would take nearly 90 days. Now, it’s almost instantaneous and the associated cost has been reduced by 90 percent. Everybody body in the organization knows where to find out what is happening." 

“Before, student acquisition would take nearly 90 days. Now, it’s almost instantaneous and the cost associated has been reduced by 90 percent.”

Dr. Riaan Steenberg, Executive Director, Eduvos

Eduvos has witnessed an impressive 50 percent year-over-year growth in enrolment for two consecutive years. It scaled from 5,800 students to 12,000 students and enrolment growth from 1,500 new students to a whopping 7,400—a testament to the institution’s student-centricity that has led a satisfying educational journey for each young mind.

By replacing many of the manual processes in enrolment with automation, Eduvos is looking forward to enrolling up to 20,000 people next year. “We had to go through an 80-page document for each application that was physically signed, so that was quite tedious for our staff and students. Since we implemented more automation, our team has more time now to discuss meaningful topics with students like challenges or their future rather than just document submissions,” shares Dr. Steenberg. 

The improved efficiency has also led to a breakthrough in debt management. “With integrated systems, we can manage finances more effectively. This has empowered us to offer more grants, with 150 million Rand made available annually. Already 60 percent of that is being awarded to eligible students,” shares Dr. Steenberg. 

Charting the future

As Eduvos continually refines its strategies, it still seeks more technological improvements. "Our primary objective is to facilitate a self-education model where students can oversee 90 percent of their enrolment process independently," shares Dr. Steenberg. With peace of mind in its reporting and business operations, Eduvos continues to improve the academic experience for its students and has received positive feedback for its innovations. “Our blended learning model, which alternates between one week on-campus and one week off-campus, has been effective for everyone. Recently, we introduced a mode called ‘full-time after hours’, allowing students to engage with lectures online during the evening from anywhere in the country,” shares Dr. Steenberg. “That’s beneficial, especially for individuals like single parents who need to work but still wish to enhance their skills.”

The institution also looks to perform more financial integration and empower students to access statements and documentation online. It will also look to use artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize students at risk of issues. “We want to use AI to anticipate and recognize patterns that might suggest struggles so we can support students quicker,” says Dr. Steenberg. As Eduvos’ journey unfolds, one sentiment remains. "Education in Africa still has plenty of room for improvement, and we aim to continue expanding our efforts. Dynamics 365 is essential for Eduvos to continue delivering quality education. Every time our system functions correctly, it signifies another individual is being educated. And that is what truly matters to us," concludes Dr. Steenberg.

“Dynamics 365 is essential for Eduvos to continue delivering quality education. Every time our system functions correctly, it signifies another individual is being educated. And that is what truly matters to us.”

Dr. Riaan Steenberg, Executive Director, Eduvos

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