Microsoft Dynamics centralizes everything including course management

NHL Stenden is now more than just a provider of regular education. In addition to higher professional education programs, the university has developed a growing range of courses and training programs. Think of refresher courses for professionals in healthcare and education or training focused on personal development. This commercial branch, which is not government-funded education, responds to the growing demand for Life Long Learning.

A growing market demands innovation

With this growth also came challenges. The various programs operated with their own systems and processes. This led to inefficiency, a lack of overview, and increasing complexity. "Each program worked in its own way. This made it difficult to maintain an overview. Some courses were on the website, others were not. Additionally, we worked with different (financial) systems. That's why we started looking for a solution to organize everything centrally," says Sylvia Wiener, data and information specialist at NHL Stenden and project leader for the implementation of the CRM system at the university.

Time for change

Ultimately, it was the Finance department that gave the signal for change. Non-government-funded education must be administered commercially, which differs from regular education streams. The accountants emphasized that the current system was no longer adequate. This was the deciding factor in searching for a future-proof solution. "The financial administration was an important reason for the change, but we soon realized that there were many more benefits to be gained. Such as consistency and overview on our website, a more uniform process, and better collaboration between departments," explains Sylvia.

Why Axelio, formerly BEND?

Axelio was already a trusted partner of NHL Stenden due to previous successful projects. Sylvia explains: "The biggest advantage for us was that Axelio had a ready-made solution based on Microsoft Dynamics. This meant we didn't have to start from scratch and could build on their experience. We also consciously chose the Microsoft system. Microsoft continuously develops itself, and we benefit from those innovations. This gives us the assurance that we are working with a future-proof solution."

The solution: everything in one system

Together with Axelio, a standard blueprint was developed to map and streamline the processes of NHL Stenden. With input from a working group consisting of employees from various programs, wishes and requirements were carefully mapped out. The result: an implementation of Microsoft Dynamics that centralizes everything, including course management.

Each program can now enter course information such as start dates, class times, and contact information directly into Dynamics. This data is automatically linked to the website, ensuring that information is always up to date. This not only makes the information provision to (potential) participants more efficient but also improves the professional appearance. "Previously, everything had to be done manually. Now programs can adjust their data themselves in Dynamics, after which everything is processed automatically. That saves a lot of time," says Sylvia. "The financial administration has also become much clearer. Our financial department now has much better visibility into the cash flows, which leads to faster and more efficient administration and less chance of errors."

More efficiency and personalization

With the implementation of Dynamics, NHL Stenden not only works more clearly and efficiently but also sees improvements in marketing and communication. "Data from Dynamics enables automated emails and campaigns. We utilize this for popular courses," says Sylvia. "For smaller groups, we make personal contact to answer questions and support participants. This way, we combine automated processes with a personal approach. Additionally, we now have more insight into the popularity of courses. This helps the marketing and communication department to direct and optimize their communications."

Looking to the future

Although the biggest steps have been taken, NHL Stenden continues to innovate. The collaboration with Axelio helps with that. "Further development is important to ensure that users remain satisfied with the support of the system," says Sylvia. "It's not a project with a beginning and an end, but a continuous process. For example, we are now looking at collecting leads, automated certificates, and web pages that provide specific information per course. With more than 300 programs and a growing range, we continue to work on accessibility and efficiency."

Thanks to the flexibility of Microsoft Dynamics, NHL Stenden can integrate new processes and subprojects at relatively low costs. This allows the system to grow with changing needs, and the university remains at the forefront of providing professional and future-proof non-government-funded education.