Challenge
Education Cloud learners are assigned advisors and other staff members via the Case Team functionality on the Case object. When a learner wants to book an appointment with a staff member, the Role of the Case Team member should drive what appointment topics each individual supports. Additionally, learners should be able to schedule appointments with other departments not directly assigned to them via an open case. The default Salesforce Scheduler functionality did not initially support these requirements.
Solution
When integrating Salesforce Scheduler with Education Cloud for Student Success as a lead engineer at Salesforce, Robert collaborated with the product, UX, and engineering teams to create a brand new OmniScript that enables a learner to schedule an appointment with their assigned advisor and other staff members. The OmniScript was designed to be flexible and configurable, allowing institutions to customize the scheduling process to meet their specific needs. Data model updates were also made to support the new scheduling functionality.
Technical Details
A number of data model changes to Salesforce Scheduler and Education Cloud were introduced:
- Case was added as an available Parent Record on Service Appointments
- Location was added to Service Territory Member, enabling institutions to assign staff members to specific locations within an overall location (for example, the academic advising office or a more specific room within the academic advising office)
- A new object, Work Type Group Role, was introduced to associate Case Team Member Roles with supported appointment topics (Work Type Groups)
- Another new object, Success Team, was introduced to allow for scheduling with staff members not directly assigned to learners
Note: For a deeper dive into the data model, explore the official Appointment Scheduling Data Model for Education.
Outcome
As of the Spring '23 release, educational institutions are able to integrate Salesforce Scheduler with Education Cloud and can leverage the new OmniScript to allow learners to schedule appointments with their assigned advisors and other staff members. The new OmniScript provides a more efficient experience for the learner over the default Salesforce Scheduler screen flows, allowing appointments to be easily booked by learners with the appropriate staff member with minimal effort.
About Soaring Peaks Consulting
Soaring Peaks Consulting engineers Salesforce Education Cloud solutions so that educational institutions can better support staff and personalize learner experiences, resulting in increased staff productivity and learner retention. To learn more about how Soaring Peaks Consulting can partner with your institution, email us today!