UMass Dartmouth PeopleSoft/Slate Student Success Implementation

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

UMass Dartmouth is a public research university in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system. Known for its focus on experiential learning, research, and community engagement, the university offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs. It serves a diverse student population and partners with local schools and industries to support regional development.

CHALLENGE:

UMass Dartmouth faced the need to centralize and improve student support services to enhance engagement, retention, and academic success. Prior to implementing Slate Student Success, communication with students was likely fragmented, advising appointments were difficult to manage at scale, and there was limited visibility into student progress. The university also lacked the tools for personalized outreach and early intervention for at-risk students. These challenges hindered the ability to deliver proactive, data-informed support and collaboration across departments.

SOLUTION:

UMass Dartmouth, with Solidan’s guidance, implemented Slate Student Success to centralize student support and streamline key services. The solution included configuring tools for managing advising appointments, tracking academic progress, enabling targeted outreach, and facilitating communication between students, advisors, and faculty.

Here’s how Solidan made it happen:

Solidan partnered closely with UMass Dartmouth to ensure a successful implementation of Slate Student Success, aligning the project with institutional goals around student engagement, retention, and proactive support. Here’s how:

1. Strategic Planning and Configuration

Solidan guided UMass Dartmouth through the full implementation lifecycle—starting with discovery and planning to understand institutional workflows, advising structures, and communication needs. Solidan then configured Slate to support these processes, including centralized messaging, appointment scheduling, and progress tracking.

2. Data Integration and Predictive Modeling

Solidan supported the integration of student data sources into Slate and helped define key indicators for success and risk. By leveraging Slate’s analytics and predictive modeling tools, the team enabled UMass Dartmouth to identify at-risk students early and act with timely, personalized interventions.

3. Training and Collaboration Enablement

Solidan led training sessions for advisors, faculty, and staff to ensure confident adoption and use of the platform. This included developing best practices for using Slate’s tools to improve collaboration between departments, personalize outreach, and strengthen student support networks.

4. Ongoing Support and Optimization

Post-launch, Solidan remained engaged to refine workflows, monitor effectiveness, and optimize usage based on campus feedback and evolving student needs—ensuring that Slate remained a dynamic and responsive platform for student success.

Result:

Increased Efficiency and Reduced Manual Labor: The implementation of DPK and Ansible drastically reduced the amount of manual labor required to manage PeopleSoft Campus Solutions. Routine updates, patches, and environment configurations were automated, allowing the client’s IT team to focus on higher-value tasks.
Consistency Across Environments: Automation ensured uniformity across development, testing, and production environments, eliminating configuration drift and reducing operational issues caused by inconsistencies.
Faster System Updates and Deployments: The use of DPK and Ansible enabled faster rollout of updates and system changes, reducing downtime and improving the speed at which new features and patches were deployed.
Improved Security and Compliance: Automated security protocols ensured that the system adhered to strict data privacy standards, while reducing the risk of human error in manual processes. Regular security updates were automated, ensuring continuous compliance with regulatory requirements.
Scalability for Future Growth: The automation framework provided by Solidan allowed the client to easily scale its PeopleSoft Campus Solutions environment as its needs grew. Ansible’s flexibility ensured that new environments could be rapidly provisioned without additional manual effort.

“Solidan’s expertise with PeopleSoft and Slate makes them a great partner for us in developing fully integrated solutions between both systems for Admissions and Student Success.”

Holger Dippel

CIO / Associate Vice Chancellor for Computer & Information Technology

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Conclusion:

The implementation of Slate Student Success at UMass Dartmouth—supported by Solidan—resulted in a centralized, data-driven approach to student engagement and support. Advisors and faculty now have streamlined tools for managing communication, tracking student progress, and proactively intervening with at-risk students. The university has seen improved collaboration across departments, increased efficiency in student services, and stronger connections between students and support staff. With enhanced visibility into student needs and outcomes, UMass Dartmouth is better equipped to drive retention, foster academic achievement, and scale student success initiatives effectively.