Universities already have a lot of software. So when someone suggests a pre-arrival community, a fair question is: don't our CRM, portal or campus app already do this? Usually not, because they do different jobs.
Book a demoManages the university's communication with applicants: emails, segments, journeys, application status
Tasks and information: documents, deadlines, offers
Serves enrolled students: timetables, events, clubs, campus services
Offer holders talking to each other before arrival, grouped by course, city and country, to build belonging and reduce drop-off
The CRM sends the invitation; the community is where students connect; the portal handles the tasks; the campus app takes over once students arrive. Uni-Life is designed to sit alongside your CRM rather than replace it, and gives your team a view of which offer holders are engaged in the community.
Some universities run their own community on a forum, a Teams or Discord server, or a campus app's groups feature. That can work when you have dedicated staff. These are the costs to plan for:
With a managed community from Uni-Life, those costs sit with Uni-Life. University staff typically spend:
on setup
a month after that
A CRM manages the university's messages to applicants. It doesn't give offer holders a place to meet each other. A pre-arrival community adds peer connection, which is what builds belonging before arrival.
No. Campus apps serve students who are already enrolled. Uni-Life focuses on the period from offer to enrolment and arrival.
Build your own if you have dedicated staff to moderate, create content and handle safeguarding all year. If not, a managed community moves that work to a specialist team, leaving 1 to 3 hours of staff time to set up, then 0 to 2 hours a month.
See how Uni-Life fits alongside your existing tools.
See how it works