These questions are not a trick. They are the questions every institution should be asking their current vendor right now. A platform that can answer all ten confidently is worth keeping. One that cannot is worth a closer look. Answer each question honestly and your score will tell you what to do next.
0 of 10 answered
Section 01
Platform investment and roadmap
01
When was the last time your student engagement platform changed in a way your team could actually feel?
Not a release note. A real improvement your staff noticed, or that students experienced differently on their own.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
02
What has your vendor shipped in the last 12 months based on customer feedback?
Ask your CSM to show you the product changelog. The answer tells you how much your feedback actually shapes the platform.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
03
What is on the product roadmap for the next 12 months? Can your CSM show you?
A vendor with a clear roadmap is a vendor still investing in the product. Vague answers are a signal.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
Section 02
Data and reporting
04
How quickly can your team go from a leadership question to a shareable answer? Minutes or days?
If the answer involves requesting a report, waiting, and decoding a spreadsheet, the data is already too old to act on.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
05
Can the platform tell you which students are becoming less engaged this semester, or only who is already active?
Identifying at-risk students before they disengage is the difference between an engagement platform and an attendance tracker.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
06
Can the platform demonstrate a correlation between co-curricular engagement and retention outcomes?
If your platform cannot connect involvement to retention data, you cannot make the case to leadership that engagement work matters.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
Section 03
Student adoption and mobile experience
07
Is student engagement happening in the platform, or around it?
If students are using Google Drive, Instagram, and GroupMe instead of your platform, the platform is not doing its job.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
08
How does the mobile experience work? Is it a native app, or a third-party add-on?
A native app built into the platform delivers a fundamentally different experience than a third-party wrapper purchased separately.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
09
Does the platform support students who do not fit the traditional residential profile? Commuters, transfers, part-time?
If your platform only works for students who live on campus and attend full-time, it is working for a shrinking share of higher education.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
Section 04
Total cost and platform consolidation
10
How many separate tools is your team currently paying for to do what one engagement platform should do?
Communications tools, advising systems, mobile add-ons, analytics platforms. The real cost of your engagement stack is often higher than the contract price.
Could your vendor answer this confidently?
Answer all 10 questions to see your score.
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