From Spreadsheet Chaos to Data-Driven Strategy
This New Orleans CBO serves 1,200+ students and alumni. Here's how they found a purpose-built solution that Salesforce-based alternatives couldn't match, and now co-present their data practices as a model for others.
Replaced years of fragmented spreadsheets
No $15K platform + $15K implementation fees
Current students and alumni in one place
The Challenge
Just to pull together the most basic information, the team had to create multiple spreadsheets to summarize it. They had a separate spreadsheet for each year, and it was too easy to accidentally delete or move things around.
📊 A Spreadsheet for Every Year
College Beyond had been tracking students through a patchwork of spreadsheets, one for each graduating class. As the years accumulated, so did the complexity. Finding a student's complete history meant hunting across multiple files, hoping nothing had been accidentally deleted or moved.
🔀 Caseload Chaos
Counselors worked with mixed caseloads: freshmen, sophomores, and alumni all at once. But the spreadsheet-per-year system meant students bounced between files as they progressed. Tracking a single student's journey required constant file-hopping and manual reconciliation.
🚫 No Alumni Milestones
With 600+ students in their active ecosystem and 1,200+ served over time, tracking post-high school milestones was nearly impossible. Are alumni persisting? Graduating? The spreadsheets couldn't answer these questions without hours of manual updates.
💰 Enterprise Prices, CBO Budget
When College Beyond explored alternatives, the options were daunting. Salesforce-based solutions quoted $15,000 for the platform, another $15,000 for implementation, plus additional costs for texting. Neither fit a CBO's budget or mission.
Why Not Salesforce?
Before finding Overgrad, College Beyond seriously evaluated Salesforce-based solutions. Here's why they didn't fit.
- $15K+ platform licenses
- $15K+ implementation fees
- Additional fees for texting and add-ons
- Requires heavy customization for education use
- Ongoing consultant dependency
- Built for sales, not student success
- Enterprise complexity for a lean CBO team
The Solution
"The purpose statement was exactly aligned with what we do. This was built for organizations like ours."
College Beyond chose Overgrad, a platform purpose-built for college access and success organizations. The switch consolidated years of fragmented data, enabled alumni milestone tracking, and came in at a fraction of the enterprise alternatives.
One System for Every Student
No more spreadsheet-per-year. Every student, from freshman through alumni, lives in one unified system. Counselors see a complete history without file-hopping, and caseload mixing is no longer a data nightmare.
- Complete student journey in a single record
- Mixed caseloads managed seamlessly
- No more accidental deletions or lost data
Alumni Milestone Tracking
College Beyond can now track what matters most: Are alumni persisting? Hitting key milestones? The system captures college enrollment, student IDs, and outcomes automatically, eliminating manual spreadsheet updates.
- Track college enrollment and persistence
- Store student IDs for colleges attended
- Automated milestone notifications and workflows
Dashboards That Drive Action
No more creating multiple spreadsheets just to summarize basic information. Overgrad's dashboards and data summaries give the team instant visibility into engagement metrics by counselor, enabling targeted interventions for students who need extra support.
- High-level charts for quick engagement overview
- Data summaries broken down by counselor and subgroup
- Tiered student views to prioritize outreach
College & Career Exploration
Beyond tracking, College Beyond wanted tools that help students make informed decisions. Overgrad's Pathways feature shows ROI by major, and built-in personality assessments help students find their fit.
- Pathways tool for exploring majors and careers
- ROI data to inform student decisions
- Personality assessments for fit-finding
The Migration
College Beyond was ready to own their data migration, and Overgrad made it straightforward. Years of spreadsheet data consolidated into a clean, organized system.
Spreadsheet Consolidation
Gathered all year-by-year spreadsheets and mapped fields to Overgrad's data model. Identified duplicates and cleaned up inconsistencies before import.
Data Import
Imported 1,200+ student records with complete historical data. Every student's journey, from first contact through alumni status, now lives in one place.
Workflow Configuration
Set up counselor workflows, alumni milestone tracking, and the dashboards the team needed. Staff trained on the new system and hit the ground running.
The Transformation
College Beyond didn't just switch systems. They built structured data practices that they now share as a model for other organizations.
Data Tracking & Accountability Calendar
College Beyond created staff-facing documentation outlining clear expectations for ongoing data management:
Coaches
- Daily: Enter notes in Overgrad after each student meeting
- Weekly: Review caseload engagement and update check-in data
- End of Period: Summarize engagement data to inform interventions
Program Director
- Daily: Review Student Support List data
- Weekly: Review engagement metrics for all staff
- Maintain: Active students, persistence rates, graduation rates
Spreadsheets Needed
All student data lives in one system. No more hunting across files or worrying about accidental deletions.
Students Unified
Every student College Beyond has ever served, both current and alumni, is now tracked in one comprehensive system.
Saved vs. Alternatives
Avoided the $15K+ platform fees and $15K+ implementation costs that Salesforce-based solutions would have charged.
Presenting Best Practices
Now sharing their "Spreadsheets to Strategy" journey at national conferences as a model for other organizations.
Ready to Escape Spreadsheet Chaos?
See how Overgrad can unify your student data and streamline alumni tracking at a price that works for CBOs.