How Slate Works with Colleges

Introduction

Slate, developed by Technolutions, is one of the most widely adopted CRM and admissions management platforms in U.S. higher education, used by over 2,000 colleges and universities. It offers an all-in-one solution for student recruitment, application review, communications, event management, and enrollment analytics. Moreover, Slate.org, the free companion platform that connects high school counsellors with colleges, is utilised by 500+ colleges, enabling streamlined sharing of application status, checklist items, and decision data. Whether it’s Georgetown University digitising 20,000+ paper-based applications or universities customising reporting dashboards, Slate continues to redefine the admissions landscape with adaptability, transparency, and scale.

According to Technolutions, more than 90% of top-ranked U.S. institutions use Slate to streamline workflows and personalise student engagement. For example, the University of Chicago leverages Slate’s automation tools to send targeted communications, track applicant progress, and integrate with financial aid systems—reducing manual data entry and improving decision turnaround times. Smaller institutions, like liberal arts colleges, use Slate’s customizable portals to create a seamless application experience for students, from inquiry to enrollment. By centralising operations, enabling real-time reporting, and integrating with third-party tools, Slate helps institutions not only increase efficiency but also deliver a more personalised and responsive admissions journey, ultimately boosting enrollment yields.

Who Can Use Slate?

Slate is designed for a broad range of institutions and professionals involved in higher education enrollment, student success, and advancement. It’s not limited to large universities—many smaller colleges, graduate schools, and even K-12 organisations benefit from its flexibility and scalability.

Key Users:

• Undergraduate & Graduate Colleges/Universities: For managing recruitment, applications, admissions, and enrollment at scale.
  
• Community Colleges: To streamline outreach, application processing, and student communications.
  
• Professional & Graduate Schools: Including law, business, and medical schools for specialised admissions workflows.
  
• International Student Offices: For handling unique application requirements, visa document tracking, and communications with global prospects.
  
• K-12 Private & Independent Schools: For managing applications and advancement efforts.
  
• Advancement & Alumni Relations Teams: To track engagement, fundraising campaigns, and donor relationships.
  
• Enrollment Management & Marketing Teams: To run targeted recruitment campaigns and analyse yield trends.

How does Slate help with college admissions?

Slate streamlines college admissions by centralising applications, communications, events, and analytics—helping institutions boost efficiency, enhance student engagement, and make data-driven enrollment decisions.

Centralized Application Management

Slate allows institutions to build custom online application forms, manage uploaded materials, and create interactive status pages and checklists within a single platform. Georgetown University, for instance, transitioned away from its manual, paper-driven admissions process for over 20,000 applications by fully digitizing it through Slate.

Robust Communication & Outreach

Slate supports segmented outreach via email, SMS, and postal mail. In 2017, the platform handled an astounding 1.6 billion emails and 7 million text messages, illustrating its capacity for high-volume and personalized communication.

Collaborative Application Review via Slate Reader

Slate Reader enables admissions teams to leave comments, rate applicants, and collaborate in real time—all within the same interface—thus increasing review efficiency and transparency.

Event Registration & Engagement Tools

Slate not only facilitates event registration and check-ins but also offers creative features like embedded weather forecasts in event communications and customizable visit itineraries tailored to each student.

Advanced Reporting & Analytics

Institutions can generate funnel reports, class profile insights, year-over-year trend analyses, and decision cycle summaries—all instantly—from within Slate. These tools help inform strategic recruitment and admission decisions.

Counselor Integration through Slate.org

Slate.org connects high school counselors with participating colleges to share application rounds, deadlines, status updates, checklist progress, and even decisions. Georgetown received over 19,000 materials via Slate.org, significantly improving processing speed and transparency.

Unmatched Market Penetration

Slate stands as the de facto CRM standard in higher education—used by 96 of the top 100 national universities, 97 of the top 100 liberal arts colleges, and a majority of top business schools and research institutions.

Scalable Data Visualisation Features

New tools like Data Explorer allow users to craft dynamic visual reports—such as pivot tables and heat maps—updated in real time without exporting data to external tools.

Flexible Query Building for Teams

Administrators can define structured query bases tailored to specific user groups (e.g., first-year vs. transfer vs. graduate applicants), ensuring clean access and streamlined workflows across teams.

How Colleges Interact with Slate.org

Slate.org is a free, web-based platform created by Technolutions that enables colleges to collaborate directly with school counsellors, community-based organisations (CBOs), and students during the admissions process. It is fully integrated with the Slate CRM, which means that any action taken in Slate.org is instantly synchronised with a college’s admissions database. This integration eliminates the need for redundant uploads and manual data entry.

Material Submission from Counselors

Counselors can directly upload transcripts, recommendation letters, and other materials into a student’s application record in Slate.

Instead of relying on postal mail or separate portals, colleges receive documents instantly in their Slate database, reducing delays and manual uploads.

Example: Georgetown University received over 19,000 materials via Slate.org, cutting down processing time and eliminating the need for paper handling.

Colleges can set rules for accepted document types and automate acknowledgements when files are received.

Real-Time Application Status Sharing

Colleges can share application checklists, decisions, and status updates with counsellors and applicants.

Through Slate.org, institutions display whether application items (e.g., test scores, essays) are received or pending.

Example: Over 500+ colleges publish status updates on Slate.org for students and counsellors to track progress.

This reduces inbound calls/emails from applicants and fosters transparency in the admissions process.

Sharing Secure Two-Way Communication

Slate.org provides a secure channel for colleges to communicate with high school counsellors.

Counsellors can send messages, clarify requirements, or request status changes directly through the portal.

Colleges maintain FERPA compliance while engaging in documented, trackable exchanges with school officials.

Event Management & Invitations

Institutions can manage counsellor-focused events directly in Slate.org.

Colleges can invite school counsellors to recruitment fairs, webinars, or campus visit programs via Slate.org’s integrated event registration.

Event sign-ups sync with the institution’s Slate CRM, so registrants automatically receive reminders and follow-up communications.

Counsellor Account Management

Colleges verify and manage counsellor accounts to ensure only authorised individuals can access student records.

This vetting process helps protect student information while allowing colleges to build trusted networks of feeder schools and community-based organisations.

Slate.org currently supports tens of thousands of verified counsellor accounts nationwide.

Intergration with Slate CRM

Every interaction in Slate.org feeds directly into the college’s main Slate CRM environment.

This eliminates the need for separate uploads, imports, or manual data entry, enabling admissions staff to work from a single, real-time source of truth.

Example: Illinois Central College uses Slate.org to consolidate counsellor-submitted documents into the same workflows as other applicant materials.

Summary

Slate, developed by Technolutions, is a leading CRM platform powering admissions, recruitment, and enrollment processes at over 2,000 U.S. institutions. Its companion tool, Slate.org, used by 500+ colleges, connects schools, counsellors, and students to streamline document submission, application tracking, and event management. From top-ranked universities like the University of Chicago to community colleges, institutions use Slate to centralise applications, personalise outreach, review files collaboratively, and generate advanced reports. Features like Slate Reader, Data Explorer, and integrated event registration enhance efficiency and data-driven decision-making. Georgetown University digitised 20,000+ applications and processed 19,000 counsellor-submitted documents via Slate.org, eliminating delays and paper handling. Colleges also share real-time status updates, maintain FERPA-compliant communications, and integrate all interactions into a single CRM environment. With adoption by 96 of the top 100 national universities, Slate has become the standard for higher education admissions—boosting operational speed, transparency, and applicant engagement from inquiry to enrollment.