The One Shift That Drove 16.6% Enrollment Growth at CSU
Client Overview
Columbia Southern University (CSU) serves over 20,000 online students and 90,000 alumni nationwide. Since 1993, CSU has offered affordable, flexible degree programs for working adults. The university is known for accessible education, career-ready programs, and a highly supportive admissions experience.
Industry: Higher Education
Solution Delivered: HubSpot CRM Implementation & Admissions Automation
HubSpot Products Used: Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, Operations Hub
Cindy Chiribao
Associate VP of Admissions
Key Outcomes
16% Increase in Enrollment Conversion
Year-to-date performance improved significantly, capturing more prospective students in 2025.
18.2% Year-Over-Year Growth in Applications
Stronger engagement and clearer journeys drove a measurable rise in application volume.
73% Increase in Daily Advisor Calls
Advisors boosted activity from 63 to 109 calls per day, improving outreach capacity.
55% Increase in Daily Advisor Talk Time
Average talk time rose from 1 hour 32 minutes to 2 hours 24 minutes, strengthening student interactions.
Cindy Chiribao
Associate Vice President of Admissions, Columbia Southern University
The Challenge
Before partnering with Mole Street, CSU relied on a homegrown SIS/CRM to manage all admissions activity. While effective in its original purpose, the legacy approach offered limited automation and segmentation. This prompted the team to explore new ways to support a more dynamic, digital-first enrollment journey.
Manual Outreach With Low Engagement
CSU advisors manually managed texts and emails across unclaimed leads, resulting in delayed and generic outreach. With no automation or personalization, student engagement suffered, yielding an average response rate of just 10% and adding operational friction.
Lack of Segmentation Hindered Targeting
All leads entered the same engagement flow regardless of source, intent, or stage. Without proper segmentation, outreach lacked relevance, advisors couldn't prioritize high-intent leads, and conversion opportunities were missed.
Disconnected Systems Created Operational Gaps
The admissions team worked across separate systems—Omega, RingCentral, and HubSpot—with no unified view of the student journey. This fragmentation left key stages untracked, limited context for outreach, and prevented a seamless funnel experience.
Manual Reporting With Limited Insight
Performance data was compiled manually, offering only basic visibility into KPIs. Without centralized dashboards or attribution tracking, leadership struggled to identify which campaigns, reps, or content were driving results—or where leads were falling off.
Staff Strain and Scalability Issues
Repetitive manual tasks consumed advisors' time, reducing capacity for strategic work. The existing tech stack added to workloads rather than alleviating them, making growth dependent on additional effort rather than smarter, scalable systems.
Attribution Blind Spots Limited Decisions
Limited tracking and disconnected systems hindered CSU’s ability to optimize its outreach and marketing spend. Without clear performance attribution, the team relied on anecdotal insights, making it difficult to adjust campaigns in real time or focus on the highest-performing channels.
Brian Belliveau
Chief Growth Officer, Columbia Southern University
Key Deliverables
CRM Implementation
Phased HubSpot rollout layered over CSU’s legacy SIS to modernize systems without disrupting operations.
Automated Workflows
Behavior based email and SMS sequences reduce manual outreach and improve student engagement.
Lead Segmentation
Routing structured by source, interest, and funnel stage to ensure faster follow up and higher quality conversations.
Advisor Training
Enabled reps to manage campaigns independently with hands on coaching and clear process documentation.
System Integration
Unified the tech stack under HubSpot to streamline data flow and eliminate disconnected tools.
Performance Dashboards
Built real time visibility into funnel activity, rep performance, and overall enrollment trends.
Cindy Chiribao
Associate Vice President of Admissions, Columbia Southern University
The Solution
Mole Street led a phased HubSpot CRM implementation to modernize CSU’s admissions operations while preserving daily continuity. Instead of replacing CSU’s legacy SIS (Omega) outright, the team layered HubSpot on top. This includes automating key touchpoints, unifying data, and reducing operational friction through a gradual, low-risk rollout aligned to CSU’s internal systems and workflows.
Cindi Chiribao
Associate VP of Admissions
Phased Rollout With Strategic Integration
Mole Street implemented HubSpot in stages, mirroring CSU’s existing systems while modernizing their architecture. Key workflows were rebuilt and synced with Omega to prevent disruption, allowing teams to adapt gradually, maintain continuity, and avoid downtime.
Automated, Behavior-Based Engagement
Manual outreach was replaced with automated email and SMS workflows triggered by actions and call outcomes. Advisors no longer needed to send follow-ups manually, improving speed-to-lead and delivering personalized engagement in real time.
Intelligent Segmentation and Lead Prioritization
Mole Street introduced segmentation based on behavior, source, and program interest, enabling CSU to tailor outreach at scale. High-intent leads were automatically prioritized for follow-up, driving more relevant advisor engagement without extra effort.
Collaborative Journey Mapping and Workflow Design
Workshops with CSU stakeholders mapped the admissions lifecycle and identified friction points. The result was a simplified, aligned funnel built in HubSpot that supported smoother conversations and higher conversions.
Internal Enablement and Advisor Autonomy
CSU teams were trained to manage workflows and campaigns independently, removing reliance on IT. Advisors gained autonomy to execute email campaigns directly, leading to faster execution and broader system adoption.
Future-Ready Infrastructure for Growth
With HubSpot as a centralized system of engagement, CSU gained the flexibility to scale campaigns, leverage AI, and optimize tactics. The new infrastructure supports continuous growth and innovation across the admissions lifecycle.
Cindy Chiribao
Associate Vice President of Admissions, Columbia Southern University
Before and After Mole Street
Enrollment Conversion
Before
Manual outreach slowed follow-up
After
Automated, behavior-based workflows
Impact
16.6% increase in enrollment conversion
Application Volume
Before
No visibility into prospect intent
After
Smart lead routing and prioritization
Impact
18.2% YoY growth in applications
Advisor Call Activity
Before
Limited visibility into the student journey
After
Unified CRM view
Impact
70% increase in daily advisor calls
Advisor Talk Time
Before
Low-quality leads consuming advisor capacity
After
Higher-intent leads routed to advisors
Impact
55% increase in advisor talk time
Reporting Visibility
Before
15 plus disconnected reports
After
Centralized, real-time dashboards in HubSpot
Impact
Clear, immediate visibility into funnel performance
System Efficiency
Before
Legacy SIS/CRM with fragmented tools
After
HubSpot integrated on top of Omega
Impact
Enabled a 16.6% lift in enrollment conversion
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