Education CRM Evaluation Checklist
A viewable, practical checklist for evaluating lead acquisition, counselling, applications, automation, analytics, security, integrations and implementation.
Reviewed for accuracy on 18 August 2026
Use this checklist with your real admission process, not as a contest to collect the most ticks. Mark each requirement as essential, important or optional; then ask vendors to demonstrate essential items using a representative workflow and sample roles.
How to use the checklist
- Agree the scope and owners before inviting demonstrations.
- Separate a standard capability from something configurable or integration-dependent.
- Record the evidence shown, the configuration required and the responsible vendor or institution team.
- Carry unresolved items into a written implementation plan.
Lead acquisition and ownership
| Check | Evidence to request |
|---|---|
| Capture web, campaign, partner and offline enquiries | Trace one enquiry from source to owner with source fields intact. |
| Duplicate detection and merge controls | Show what matches, who can merge and what history is preserved. |
| Allocation and reassignment | Test round robin, conditional allocation, capacity and manual override. |
| Untouched and ageing queues | Find enquiries with no meaningful action inside a chosen time window. |
Counselling and communication
- Unified timeline for calls, notes, messages, tasks and stage changes.
- Follow-up due dates, overdue views, ownership and escalation.
- Programme-interest tracking without creating uncontrolled duplicates.
- Template governance, consent handling and provider-dependent delivery status.
- Counsellor workload and performance views that include context, not only totals.
Applications and admissions
- Configurable forms, steps, validations and applicant save/resume.
- Document upload, verification, rejection reason and pendency views.
- Application, seat-booking or other relevant payment stages.
- Controlled stage changes, review decisions, offers and letters.
- Applicant communication that reflects the actual application state.
Automation and controls
Ask to see the trigger, conditions, exclusions, action history, failure handling and manual stop. Confirm whether “AI” means a trained or probabilistic model, an external AI service, or deterministic rules. Each may be useful, but they carry different review and governance needs.
Reports and analytics
- Funnel movement and ageing by intake, programme and campus.
- Source attribution from enquiry to application, payment and admission.
- Counsellor activity and outcomes with date and cohort controls.
- Exports, scheduled delivery and permission boundaries.
- Definitions for every management metric and treatment of reopened records.
Security and governance
Review roles, granular permissions, sensitive-field masking, download controls, login and change history, data retention, backup responsibilities and integration access. Request verified documentation for certifications or infrastructure claims instead of relying on a sales slide.
Implementation and support
Clarify data preparation, migration validation, configuration ownership, testing, training, launch support, change control and post-launch review. A capable platform still needs named owners on both sides and agreed acceptance criteria.
Questions teams ask
Frequently asked questions
Should we score every CRM feature equally?
No. Weight requirements by operating risk and buyer priority, then insist on evidence for the essential workflows.
What should count as verified in a CRM evaluation?
A requirement is verified when the team sees the workflow, understands dependencies and limitations, and records how it will be accepted during implementation.