American National University
Accelerating Business Process Automations with Lingk
Systems Integrated: Salesforce, Anthology Student, Canvas, Zoom
Challenge
For years American National University (ANU) was using time-consuming manual efforts to process thousands of physical documents. This drain on labor was further exacerbated by the need to manually mirror the SIS updates in their CRM and LMS platforms, Salesforce and Canvas. Wasting valuable resources on jobs dedicated to processing documents, ANU was left with an enormous backlog and a mountain of technical debt. And with a limited budget, it was difficult to keep everything running, let alone create innovative experiences for students, faculty, and administrators. ANU’s leaders knew that they needed help with automating system integrations.
Solution
Lingk's professional services team worked with ANU to understand their procedures, data, and desired business outcomes. The team then developed a suite of integrations on the Lingk Platform, that automated the exchange of data between Salesforce, Canvas, and Anthology Student, drastically reducing processing time from hours to seconds.
The ANU team was immediately impressed by Lingk’s innovative approach that combines expert integration services and powerful integration technology (iPaaS+) built on a big data processing engine (Apache Spark). ANU became amazed by Lingk’s capacity to not only build but also manage the ongoing maintenance of their integrations.
Results
American National University has achieved significant operational efficiencies and enhanced student services by streamlining data integration. ANU was able to repurpose staff toward high-value tasks, eliminating time-consuming manual processes. The institution also alleviated costly IT staffing and retention challenges, reducing reliance on specialized in-house technical resources.
With a unified and comprehensive view of student information, academic advising became more impactful, ensuring that students received timely, data-driven guidance. Additionally, ANU reinforced its financial aid compliance, minimizing errors and improving the accuracy of student financial records. These improvements collectively contributed to a more efficient and student-centered institutional experience.
Physical documents per student manually processed—before Lingk
“Within only a few months, the Lingk team had integrations working that I spent years attempting to accomplish. Their team is professional, thinks outside of the box, and has solved our most complex integration issues. I highly recommend partnering with Lingk.”
Dr. Joel Musgrove, Senior Executive Vice President of Operations, American National University
Attendance Tracking: Improving Student Retention and Compliance
Furthermore, ANU sought to enhance the attendance data needed to quickly identify wayward students. To achieve this, ANU worked with the Lingk team to create an innovative integration solution that enables ANU to seamlessly pass data, such as attendance and grades, from their Canvas LMS to Salesforce and Anthology Student. As a result, advisors gain a clearer and more comprehensive insight into student engagement while also ensuring crucial data consistency across all three systems.
Class Rosters: Giving a Major Boost to the Student Experience
ANU also leveraged Lingk to implement a robust synchronization of class rosters and faculty assignments across their CRM, SIS, and LMS. Through a tightly choreographed sequence of recipes, the new CRM, SIS, and LMS systems integration collects class roster data from the source system, Anthology Student, updates enrollment records in Salesforce, and then reflects those changes in the Canvas course sections. The resulting system’s accuracy and cohesion reduce the need for manual interventions, enable near real-time updates across all three systems, and deliver one trustworthy source for comprehensive student data.
A Powerful Extension of the ANU Team
Beyond the proven integration success, ANU commends the Lingk team on its impressive knowledge of higher education systems, data, and processes, as well as their deep understanding of the student, faculty, and administrator experience. Furthermore, with Lingk’s Managed Integration Services (MIS), ANU views Lingk as a true extension of their team, a strategy that keeps the focus on serving the needs of the institution while alleviating the team’s challenges of recruiting, training, and retaining data integration staff.
“We don’t have the bandwidth to solve these integration challenges on our own,” said Dr. Musgrove. “Lingk enables us to achieve our integration objectives affordably and sustainably.”
About American National University
American National University (ANU) is a private, for-profit institution with several campuses across Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. ANU is committed to helping individuals reach their career goals by offering various credential and degree programs through distance education and blended learning formats. Dedicated to adult learners, ANU provides access to quality, career-focused programs that equip students with the essential skills required to be competitive in today’s changing marketplace.
Together we can do great things
Contact Lingk today to discover how we can assist your institution in achieving its integration goals