USU Launches New Learner Portal and Application to Streamline the Prospective Student Experience

Utah State University has launched a new learner portal and application designed to simplify how prospective students apply, track their application, receive decisions and respond to offers. The new experience went live on Thursday, serving students applying for Spring 2027 and beyond.

Prospective students now apply through a single, modern entry point at applynow.usu.edu. The portal reduces confusion, streamlines steps and creates a clearer, more intuitive path from interest to enrollment.

“For prospective students, the primary improvements are simplicity and clarity,” said Ian Anderson, executive director of Enrollment Strategy & Innovation. “Students apply through one modern entry point, and behind the scenes Salesforce allows us to reduce friction, limit duplicate steps and respond more quickly. The goal is that students don’t have to think about the system itself. They can focus on applying and learning about USU rather than navigating processes.”

This launch represents the first production release supporting the full undergraduate and graduate application experience in Salesforce and marks a major milestone in the OneUSU CRM initiative.

“It reflects our shift from fragmented, system-centered workflows to a unified platform that improves how we engage students and support staff,” Anderson said. “It lays the foundation for more personalized, data-informed recruitment at scale.”

Behind the scenes, the launch establishes Salesforce as the system of record for recruitment and admission activity, replacing multiple disconnected tools and creating a more consistent and connected experience for recruitment and admissions teams. Enrollment support staff will see immediate benefits through more streamlined processes, reduced application processing time, improved system integration and better visibility into applicant data.

“The clearest change will be in how prospect data is created, managed and shared,” said Lindi Brown, USU Salesforce admin. “Recruiters will see more standardized records, clearer ownership and improved visibility into student interactions. This work sets a strong foundation for everything student-related that we can build on.”

Brown said that success is not defined by perfection on day one, but by trust and usability over time.

“It’s less about perfection on day one and more about creating a solid, usable foundation that we can continue to improve,” she said. “This launch enables us to better understand where a student is in their journey and respond accordingly, rather than treating each interaction as a one-off. It’s the first step toward a more personalized and supportive recruitment experience.”

The launch also supports USU’s broader vision for connected, student-centered engagement across the institution.

“For OneUSU CRM, this proves that a shared CRM is no longer just a concept, it’s a functional platform that will someday support recruitment at scale,” Brown said. “For the university, it’s a critical step toward breaking down data silos and creating a more coordinated, student-centered approach. This launch isn’t just about technology; it’s about building trust, shared ownership and a better way of working together at Utah State University.”

These improvements mark an important shift in how USU approaches student engagement. By moving to a shared, scalable CRM platform, the university is creating the infrastructure needed to connect people, processes and data across the student journey, while setting the stage for continued growth and collaboration beyond recruitment and admissions.

“This go-live represents a major milestone in the OneUSU CRM journey by establishing Salesforce as the long-term platform that will support student engagement across the full student lifecycle,” Lindsay Farnworth, director of Enrollment Systems & Data, said. “While this release focuses on Recruitment and Admissions, it lays the foundation for more integrated engagement over time across enrollment, student success and advancement.”

Work on the advancement phase of OneUSU CRM is already underway, with foundational sprints complete and marketing beginning development of advancement email templates and a preference center.

“This launch signals that OneUSU CRM is becoming a real, extensible platform,” Farnworth said. “For stakeholders beyond recruitment and admissions, it creates cleaner data, clearer processes and a shared system that supports collaboration. It lays the groundwork for future enhancements that will benefit alumni, advising, retention and student success efforts.”

Staff interested in previewing the application experience may explore the Application Test Site by creating a new portal account. This environment is for testing only and does not affect live student data.

To learn more about OneUSU CRM, explore project phases, or follow progress updates, visit crm.usu.edu. Questions or feedback may be shared by emailing oneusucrm@usu.edu or submitting the OneUSU CRM feedback form.