case studies peralta community college

From its home base in northern California, Peralta Community College educates more than 30,000 students a year across four campuses in Berkeley, Alameda, and Oakland.
The campuses have drawn as many as 1,000 international students to its doors each year for vocational and associate degree programs and ESOL classes.

Growing Pains

Student batch registration wasn’t integrated with the school’s internal software systems.
The international education team spent hours manually registering hundreds of students into the system each semester.

Peralta sought relief from its previous software provider and found Terra Dotta’s International Student & Scholar Services solution.

BEFORE TERRA DOTTA

Tedious Tasks

As Peralta’s population of international students grew, the work to keep all of the information straight became even more tedious.

Before Terra Dotta we used so much paper as part of the application process. We had so many students submitting partial applications but never keeping in touch with us. We had all these paper applications piling up.

—Thomas Torres-Gil
Director of International Education

Before Terra Dotta, other issues piled up too.

When new information came in, it would need to be updated in multiple places.
Paper applications often weren’t complete or were difficult to read due to the handwritten nature.
There was no way to digitize even the most routine tasks. Everything required manual data entry.
Filing cabinets were everywhere, stuffed with student applications and requests for reduced course loads, optional practical training and extensions. Staff wasted time searching for the right information.

“We needed to look for a better long-term solution. Terra Dotta had the most complete package, and the rates were very reasonable.”

WITH TERRA DOTTA

Taming Tedious Tasks

While there was some initial resistance to change, the move has been better for the institution, their students, and for the planet. After the first semester with Terra Dotta, the office went paperless.

Now with Terra Dotta…

BATCHING
is easy

Peralta can create and update SEVIS records in batch, ensuring that the information is accurate; regularly using the SEVIS-embedded browser for queries and reports.

FILTERING
is painless

Fewer prospective students are filling out the application on a whim. Filtering allows staff to focus on serious applicants.

FOLLOW UP
is seamless

When new profiles are created, Peralta can quickly reach out to ensure students are moving through the process and are notified about deadlines.

INFORMATION
is cleaner

Sloppy handwriting and skipped sections on applications are no longer an issue. Within Terra Dotta, applications must be filled out in full.

ACCESS TO DATA
is faster

Students can now log in to the system and find needed documents. Same goes for Peralta staff, who can quickly cross check information and be assured that it is up-to-date.

VISIBILITY
is seamless

Peralta can dive deep into the data to learn more about its international student population. They’ve incorporated surveys into the platform to get information from where students plan to live to how they rate the international office’s services.

A NEW OFFICE
is open

With applications and student documents online, Peralta was able to open a second international education office at its popular Berkeley campus to better serve students.

COVID-19 RESPONSE

As the world reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and Peralta shifted to virtual learning, the international education office was able to quickly transition to remote work while continuing to serve its students.

With Terra Dotta, Peralta could:

TRACK STUDENTS

Peralta downloaded data from SEVIS to see if its international students had departed the United States.

INFORM STUDENTS

Using a personalized template and query in Terra Dotta, Peralta emailed all active students to let them know about a Zoom meeting where they could learn more about what was next. More than 100 students joined.