The education industry is rapidly changing. From ChatGPT to online classes, managing schools and universities has never been more difficult.
Enter HubSpot.
Whether you're running admissions, coordinating outreach, or managing alumni relationships, HubSpot helps streamline communication, automate processes, and organize everything in one place. Here's how education institutions can get the most out of the platform, without needing a tech degree to make it work.
If you're new to HubSpot, start by creating an account with your institution's email address. Education and nonprofit discounts are available, and you can choose from Starter, Pro, or Enterprise depending on your complexity and goals.
Starter is great for basic CRM and email needs. Pro and Enterprise unlock more automation, customization, and reporting power, especially useful for institutions with multiple campuses or departments.
Start by making the platform your own. Set your branding, input your school’s contact info, and start building the structure around your unique needs.
Brand assets like your logo, colors, and domain
Custom properties for education-specific data (Student ID, Grade Level, Program, Enrollment Status, Parent Contact)
Custom Objects (available on Pro+ plans) to track Programs, Campuses, Faculty, or even Dorm Assignments
This foundation makes it easier to scale and personalize your outreach later.
HubSpot isn’t a one-size-fits-all login. You can control who sees what and ensure each team only accesses what they need.
Admins need full access to manage integrations, workflows, and data across the system.
From there, you can create customized views for:
Admissions teams, who handle prospective student journeys
Student Success or Academic Advising, who track current student engagement
Faculty, who may need visibility into students in their courses
Marketing or Communications, responsible for parent updates, newsletters, or alumni outreach
Create Teams inside HubSpot like "Admissions," "Alumni Relations," or "Parent Communications" to group users and manage shared assets like dashboards or templates. It’s an easy way to ensure everyone stays in their lane.
HubSpot’s CRM helps you keep people organized by name, and also by where they are in their journey with your institution.
Use HubSpot’s custom properties to track things like:
Grade level or academic year
Enrollment status (prospective, current, alumni)
Program or major
Guardian contact and relationships
With associations, you can link students to parents, advisors, and even specific academic departments.
Not everyone needs the same message. HubSpot’s lists and segments help you group contacts by lifecycle stage, engagement level, or specific interests.
Prospective students by lead source or application status
Current students by academic standing or extracurriculars
Parents by student year or volunteer history
Alumni by graduation year, donation status, or region
These segments power smarter, more personalized emails, workflows, and reporting.
Admissions is one of the most process-heavy parts of any school. HubSpot helps turn that chaos into a smooth, trackable journey.
Use deals or tickets to create a visual pipeline that shows where each prospective student stands.
Here’s a sample setup:
Inquiry received
Application started
Application submitted
Interview scheduled
Decision made
Enrollment confirmed
Each stage can trigger automated emails, task assignments, or internal alerts so nothing slips through the cracks.
Workflows are your best friend here. Set them up to:
Send confirmation emails after inquiries or application submissions
Remind students to finish applications
Automate interview scheduling with tools like Calendly
Send personalized admissions decisions and next steps
You can even notify your team when a high-priority lead hits a key milestone.
Every call, email, note, and meeting is automatically tracked in a contact's timeline. No more chasing down spreadsheets or buried email threads.
Alumni relationships are about more than annual fund appeals. HubSpot helps you stay in touch and build real connection over time.
Use dynamic content and smart lists to personalize your outreach by graduation year, degree program, or career field. Highlight upcoming reunions, alumni success stories, and ways to give back.
Use HubSpot forms to capture RSVPs
Automate reminders and post-event thank-yous
Send targeted invites based on class year, geography, or past involvement
With HubSpot’s segmentation and personalization tools, you can create campaigns that actually resonate, whether you’re reaching out to first-time donors or major gift prospects.
Track engagement and ROI through HubSpot’s campaigns tool, which ties emails, forms, ads, and landing pages together into one reporting view.
With HubSpot, you don’t have to guess what’s working, because the data tells you.
Build dashboards to visualize:
Application-to-enrollment rates
Average time from inquiry to enrollment
Stage-by-stage drop-off
Performance by lead source or program
You can see who’s opening your emails, clicking through to resources, or showing up for events. If you're integrated with your LMS or SIS, you can even track attendance or academic performance trends alongside communication activity.
Run A/B tests on email subject lines or CTAs
Compare performance across email, ads, or social
Attribute applications, donations, or sign-ups to the right channel
With HubSpot’s latest reporting features, including attribution modeling and multi-touch analytics, you can finally connect your efforts to outcomes.
If your team is stuck juggling spreadsheets, clunky systems, or disconnected tools, HubSpot is worth a serious look. It’s built to help you:
Get more organized
Save time through automation
Improve communication with students, parents, and alumni
Track what’s working and adjust in real-time