New ELI student application increases admissions

The University of Utah’s English Language Institute (ELI), which provides English instruction for learners around the world, is welcoming more students than ever thanks to a new, streamlined application system.

Since launching the unified application and document portal, developed by UIT’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) team for University Connected Learning (UCL), on September 9, 2025, ELI has had a 265% increase in applications started compared to the previous 12 weeks, with a 62% increase in application completion. ELI, which accepts every learner who applies for one of its four programs, has a separate admissions process and platform than the university’s academic programs, as well as partnerships with foreign universities, governments, and businesses.

“Our priority was to make the application process as smooth and welcoming as possible. Any confusion or extra steps can become a barrier, even in an open-admissions program,” said Kirsten MacQuillin, designated school officer for ELI. “The new process allows us to tailor the application to each student, showing only the questions and requirements that apply to their situation. This makes the process clearer, reduces drop-offs, and ensures students can easily take that first step into ELI.”

MacQuillin said the old application was antiquated, clunky, and could not adapt to ELI’s diverse student population or future growth.

“Students often found the [previous] system confusing. Multiple forms, lengthy sections, and unclear instructions led many to abandon their applications midway. For those who tried to push through, the process was time-consuming and overwhelming,” said Mythri Mani, a Salesforce system administrator for the UCL CRM team and the application’s lead builder. “Behind the scenes, the ELI team was working just as hard, manually emailing students, managing resubmissions via email, and trying to track incomplete applications.”

Mani said the new system, which the UCL CRM team created using FormAssembly, Salesforce, and an integration with PeopleSoft, processes applications more quickly (some students are admitted within a day); provides a supportive and seamless experience for students, including translation; ensures greater accuracy and student visa compliance; and improves visibility into student progress.

Applicants now interact with a FormAssembly form that has a tailored set of questions based on their program selection, student type, and prerequisites based on ELI selections in Salesforce, and a secure portal where they can complete their application, view their status, upload documents, make payments, and resubmit documents. Students also receive timely and customized automated emails depending on the status of their application from Salesforce.

“The student experience is almost entirely self-service. They have all the information about requirements for documents as they upload them. They can see where they are in the process and next steps,” said Carrie Felton, senior Salesforce system administrator for the UCL CRM team and the project’s architect.

MacQuillin called it magic.

“In the past, the ELI team or I interacted with every applicant because they got off track in the application flow. The fact that we've had so many students go through the new app without having to send us an email means it's working. So, I’m super pleased with it,” she said.

MacQuillin said the new system has not only helped students, but ELI staff by increasing the office’s efficiency and improving their view into the student life cycle via Salesforce.

“It has significantly alleviated office time — communicating back and forth with students takes a lot of effort. And it's helped us narrow down and identify who our learners are and what they need without keeping spreadsheets,” she said. “So, it has been a huge lifesaver for us.”

Additionally, the ELI team now has a holistic view of the student development life cycle — from admission to graduation, and hopefully, transfer to a U degree program. Many ELI students, MacQuillin said, hope to enroll at the university after graduating from the English program.

“The new application benefits the students, the ELI program, and the university. If we have a 126% increase in full-time application completion rates and students who will be here, that will certainly drive a bump in university enrollment,” said Arainna Forth, Senior Manager for the UCL CRM team. The university aims to enroll 40,000 students and improve its retention, graduation, thriving, and placement rates by 2030.

The new system allows for growth, including ELI and vendor updates. The tool also can be duplicated and modified for any university program.

“We build our tools to be program agnostic, so the ELI system could be rolled out across campus for anybody else who needs it. We also build our tools to be iterative so we can add a new coat of paint or the front porch we've always dreamed of,” Forth said, adding that her team used out-of-the-box functionality as much as possible to ensure that they qualify for every update from Salesforce for free. (Salesforce typically updates its platform three times a year.)

MacQuillin envisions expanding the portal into a broader student hub, serving not only new applicants but current students.

“Throughout an ELI’s student life cycle, there are multiple points where we need updated information and documentation. Using a centralized portal to collect these items would streamline processes, reduce administrative follow-up, and give students a single, consistent place to manage their ELI requirements,” she said.

ELI Director Casey Poe thanked and congratulated MacQuillin, Felton, and Mani for their work on the application, which took almost a year to develop.

“We previously had a high bounce rate due to inefficiencies in the old application, and so far, our bounce rate is 0%!” he said on September 19. “This much-easier-to-use application will have a big impact on the number of applicants we can get into the pipeline for the Intensive English Program (IEP). Recruitment and marketing are important, but making the application as ‘slippery’ as possible may have just as big an impact.” 

 

 

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