When Olivia Pendleton joined Coe College as Assistant Dean of Students and Title IX Coordinator in April 2022, she discovered an untapped opportunity. The institution already had Symplicity Advocate, but it wasn't being leveraged to its full potential. With experience using similar case management software in previous roles, Olivia recognized what was possible—and she was ready to lead the transformation.

Turning Potential Into Practice

Coe College's journey with Advocate began with learning and exploration. Olivia dove into the platform, utilizing Symplicity's webinars and Help Center resources to build her expertise before teaching her team. But what truly made the difference was the human support behind the technology.

"My favorite thing about working with Symplicity is the client managers and they have been so helpful," Olivia shares. "They never seem to be bothered or feel like I'm asking ridiculous questions, so working with them has really made the experience so much easier and so much more accessible."

The relationship went beyond typical vendor support. "I sometimes feel like Brittney is like my co-worker, not someone who's trying to sell me something," Olivia explains. "It never feels like car sales. It's more like, 'Let me help you make the most of it.' They're not just offering webinars—they're checking in, seeing how things are going. It's not like, 'Oh, here's this thing, good luck.'"

Flex Workflows Transform Complex Processes

One of Coe College's most innovative implementations has been using Flex workflows to streamline their event registration process for events with alcohol. Previously, this involved juggling Google Forms, separate training systems, and multiple disconnected processes. Now, everything lives within Advocate.

"When a student submits an event with alcohol, we're able to take that on, approve it, send all the correlating letters, and already have that event in there," Olivia explains. "So if there is a conduct case that comes from it, we can just easily transfer that into the conduct process rather than having to start completely over."

The impact on efficiency has been tangible. "Our turnaround time in cases is significantly quicker than it was before," Olivia notes. The system shows how many days cases have been open, creating accountability. "It just helps hold people accountable," she says, adding that students have noticed and appreciated the faster communication, even without understanding the technology behind it.

Clear Visibility, Better Collaboration

For Olivia as a system manager, Flex has brought unprecedented visibility into case workflows. "To see exactly what stage people are in, what they've worked on, what they haven't—it just paints such a clear picture of where you're at in any given process."

Collaboration has improved dramatically as well. Team members can tag colleagues in cases, upload notes automatically, and access information without endless email chains. "It makes the communication and getting things where it needs to be as far as storage so much easier and efficient," Olivia says.

Looking Ahead

Coe College continues to expand their use of Advocate, with plans to implement new workflows around facilities work orders and increase the use of custom forms. "I think it's very user-friendly and it's easier to click a button and fill something out than to maybe send a follow-up email," Olivia explains. "So I think it just helps with accessibility a lot."

Her advice to other institutions? "For someone who doesn't feel confident in their ability to just jump in and manage a software, going with Advocate knowing you're going to have that support is really the way to go."

And support is exactly what makes the difference—not just the software, but the people and partnership that come with it.

Interested in Advocate? Book a demo today.