Quick read
This article is written for teams evaluating platforms, rollout priorities, and the tradeoffs between adoption, workflow depth, and implementation effort.
Most campus engagement software RFPs ask vendors to confirm that they have a list of features. But features alone do not tell a campus whether students will actually use the platform, whether implementation will go smoothly, or whether the reporting will become a trusted source of truth. This question set is built to expose the gaps that feature lists hide.
Student adoption and usage
- What is the average student monthly active usage rate across your customer base?
- What percentage of RSVPs come from mobile versus desktop across your installed base?
- How do you measure and report on student return usage beyond the first month after launch?
- What is the average student login frequency at an institution 6 months after launch?
- Can you share anonymized usage data from a campus similar in size and type to ours?
Event operations
- Does event ticketing, QR check-in, and RSVP live in the same system, or across separate tools?
- What does guest RSVP (for non-enrolled participants) look like in your platform?
- How are co-hosted events handled when multiple organizations share one event page?
- What is the largest event your platform has handled check-in for? What was the check-in processing speed?
Implementation and rollout
- What is the typical calendar time from contract signature to full student launch?
- Which implementation steps require our IT team versus your implementation team?
- How have you handled migrations from Anthology Engage, CampusGroups, or OrgSync?
- What are the most common reasons implementations take longer than expected?
- What does a phased rollout look like, and what do you recommend starting with?
Data, reporting, and integrations
- What data can staff access without an export or a custom report request?
- Does your platform integrate with our SIS, and what does that integration actually cover?
- How do you handle FERPA compliance for student participation records?
- What data does your platform send or share with third parties?
Vendor health and product trajectory
- How many net new institutions adopted your platform in the last 12 months?
- What features shipped in the last 6 months, and what is on the public roadmap?
- What is your customer retention rate, and can you share a current customer reference?
- How do you handle platform migration if an institution decides to leave?
Pricing and contract structure
- What is included in the base contract, and what triggers additional costs?
- Are there per-student pricing escalators if enrollment increases?
- What happens to our data if we choose not to renew?
How to use this checklist
Run these questions in the demo conversation, not only in the formal RFP. A vendor that deflects or gives vague answers to adoption, implementation, and data questions in a demo will give you the same answers in a contract. The stronger evaluations treat the demo as the real test of platform honesty, not just a product showcase.
