In Your Element

Live at NCCCS Conference: How Wayne Community College Boosted Enrollment by 11% with Smart Integration

Episode Notes

In this episode of In Your Element, recorded live at the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) Conference, Daniella interviews Kelly Sinacola, VP of Solutions Engineering and Integrations at Element451, and Jennifer Mayo, Director of Admissions and Records at Wayne Community College. They discuss the benefits of integrating the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) application with Element451, highlighting how it streamlines admissions processes, reduces data duplication, and saves time for admissions teams. Jennifer shares Wayne's impressive enrollment growth and how the integration has simplified their workflows, allowing them to focus more on serving students.

Key Takeaways:

• CFNC Integration Explained: CFNC is North Carolina's statewide application system, and integrating it with Element451 centralizes student data, making it easier for teams to manage admissions processes.
• Saving Time and Eliminating Duplication: Wayne Community College transitioned from manually handling applications to using Element451's automated processes, reducing errors, and avoiding duplicated data entries.
• Increased Enrollment: After one year of using the integration, Wayne saw significant gains in enrollment, with a 6% increase in the spring and 11% in the summer.
• Flexibility Across States: While CFNC is specific to North Carolina, the integration model can be applied in other states using similar systems like Common App, Apply Idaho, and Apply Texas.
• Streamlined Transcript Handling: The integration automatically matches applications with transcripts, reducing manual work for staff and ensuring more accurate student profiles.

Calls to Action:

• Explore Integrations: Learn more about how Element451 can streamline your institution's admissions process by exploring their various state-based integrations.
• Follow the Show: Don’t miss out on future episodes—subscribe to *In Your Element* for more insights into how technology can transform higher education.
• Connect with Element451: Interested in implementing similar solutions at your institution? Visit Element451’s website to schedule a demo and see how it can work for you.
• Share Your Thoughts: Were you inspired by Wayne Community College’s success story? Join the conversation on social media and share your own experiences with CFNC or other application systems.

Guest Names: 
Jennifer Mayo, Director of Admissions + Records, Wayne Community College 
Kelly Sinacola, VP of Solutions Engineering and Integrations, Element451 

Guest Socials: 
Jennifer Mayo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-mayo-a230368b
Kelly Sinacola - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-sinacola/

Guest Bios: 

Jennifer Mayo is the Director of Admissions and Records at Wayne Community College, where she leads efforts to streamline admissions processes and enhance student enrollment experiences. With a strong background in managing student data and integrating technology into higher education, Jennifer has been instrumental in implementing the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) integration with Element451, which has significantly reduced manual tasks and increased enrollment at Wayne. Known for her creative problem-solving and commitment to improving workflows, Jennifer is passionate about using technology to simplify admissions and support student success.

Kelly Sinacola brings over 15 years of experience in the higher education industry. Prior to joining Element451 as VP, Solution Engineering and Integration, she held positions in IT in end user support, web development, and Ellucian Colleague development before moving into consulting with Ferrilli in November 2011.  While with the Ferrilli team, she worked with clients on developing solutions, managing projects, and leading technical teams to implement new features before moving into an executive leadership position leading services within Ellucian Colleague, Anthology, Workday, CRM platforms, software development and Security, Cloud, and Infrastructure supporting Ferrilli’s mission to improve student success for higher education institutions. 
Kelly has a deep understanding of user issues and the ability to articulate technical processes clearly.  This helps as she facilitates conversations across departments to solicit process improvement and systemic change. 
Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwood University, with a dual major in business administration and management information systems.  Her master’s in educational technology from Central Michigan University gives her additional insight into the teaching and learning process.