CASE STUDY
Transforming the Student Experience with Lightning Communities
The Harvard Graduate School of Education is one of the 12 degree-granting schools at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Of Harvard’s more than 20,000 enrolled students, just under 900 are part of HGSE, whose mission is to prepare leaders in education and generate knowledge to improve student opportunity, achievement and success.
CLIENT
Harvard Graduate School
of Education
INDUSTRY
Higher Education
PRODUCTS
Salesforce Community Cloud
7Summits Student Accelerator
“In a sector filled with ad-hoc development work and vendors trying to ‘get in and get out’ as quickly as possible, 7Summits maintains exceptionally high standards with strict attention to true engineering practices.” – CIO
Challenge
Decentralized, desktop-centric systems that provided a disjointed experience
HGSE needed a digital experience that matched its reputation as a top educational institution. Their digital landscape relied on disparate services that required multiple logins to access the tools students needed to be successful. HGSE’s relationships with constituents were often transactional, using email and web, but the school wanted something more engaging.
Solution
Implement a Lightning solution to improve student engagement and communication
HGSE leveraged the features and functionality of Lightning to create a centralized, integrated communications hub that is mobile-friendly and personalized for students. Each student now has quick, easy access to the tools they need to thrive, including relevant content and frequently used systems. They can also collaborate in groups directly within the community.
Outcome
Consistent ability to adapt to student needs and provide the positive experience desired
In leveraging Lightning and 7Summits’ Student Success Accelerator Lightning Bolt, HGSE now has the capacity to continue innovating for the betterment of their students. The new community replaced extraneous systems and workflows with an innovative experience that consistently enhances the student lifecycle in a fraction of the time at a fraction of the cost.