Would we expect anything less than a strong start to the Vegas Slate Summit—complete with a magic show? Yes, there was actual sleight of hand involved, but let’s be honest: the real magic everyone came to see is the kind Technolutions has in store for the rest of the event.
This year’s Summit was packed with practical takeaways—from new features to real-world strategies. Whether focused on product updates or emergency prep, every session offered something to bring back to your campus.
What’s New?
Just like last year, AI continues to be a driving force behind Slate’s latest innovations. From AI-powered chatbots and Slate AI Snippets to AI Interviews and Slate AI for Portals, these new features are making their way to your Slate instance (as soon as this week)—bringing smarter, more efficient solutions right to your fingertips.
A new feature, Inline HTML Source Editing, includes predictive editing, easy merge field drop-ins, and expandable sections. For communicators, the ability to see a live preview of HTML edits—without needing to save first—makes a huge difference. Removing the guesswork is a game changer, especially for those who aren’t as confident with HTML as they’d like to be.
Be sure to check out Technolutions’ Executive Summary for a deeper dive into the new features headed your way!
In Case of Emergency, Break Glass: How to Prepare Your Instance for Unprecedented Events
The first session I attended was led by Kara Achzet from TPG’s partner institution, Mount Saint Mary’s University-Los Angeles. She emphasized the importance of resilience during emergencies, noting that “these systems can experience operational disruptions due to natural disasters or other crises. The need for a resilient, well-prepared instance has never been more critical.”
Some key takeaways: have event cancellation communications ready in advance. If an emergency shuts down campus events, prebuilt messages can save time and eliminate the need to send emails manually when that may not be possible.
If power is cut to your Slate instance—whether it‘a DNS servers, SSO or MFA issues, or something else—external accounts and scheduled event registration reports can be lifesavers. As she noted, “We were mostly prepared. Having ‘just in case’ resources set up would’ve saved us from struggle during such an overwhelming disaster.”
Advancing Your Slate Instance with Auctions
I had the pleasure of seeing TPG’s own Katie Jordan present on auctions in Slate. Alongside Lloyd Lentz from Macalester College, Katie showed how parent and child datasets can power auctions—highlighting the process from the perspectives of backend users, donors, and bidders.
Modified from the Advancement Giving Day portal found in Clean Slate, it collects donor submissions, displays item details, and allows users to place bids—all in one streamlined interface. Donors can upload descriptions, images, and values, while bidders browse items and track bidding in real time.
Conditional logic enhances functionality by revealing item details in advance, helping bidders make informed decisions, and building excitement before the auction begins.
Winning bidders are processed as pledges using an Upload Dataset to the person record, with a custom field on the gifts table linking each pledge to its auction item.
Katie and Lloyd’s unique approach to their Summit presentation this year showcased the possibilities within Slate and opened the door to what’s truly possible with the platform.
At The TPG Table
Day two kept TPG moving with engaging discussions alongside current and prospective partner institutions.
Marcus Webb, VP of Enrollment Analytics & Chief Slate Strategist, shared some insights from conversations at the TPG table this year. Overwhelmingly, it seems that Student Success instances are a major focus for institutions right now.
While Student Success is clearly a rapidly growing area within Slate, many institutions still feel they need more support when it comes to effectively serving current students and improving retention. The tools are expanding, but navigating how best to use them—and aligning them with existing workflows—remains a challenge for many teams.
Marcus emphasized the importance of developing a unified vision between the Admission and Student Success offices.
Too often, these teams operate in silos, but bringing them together with a unified vision can create a more seamless experience for students and a more strategic approach for institutions. Collaboration and shared goals are key to unlocking the full potential of Slate for Student Success.
With AI taking center stage during the opening session, Marcus shared how the new document analysis feature will play a significant role.
“It will help optimize human hours—particularly in processing and document review—by letting technology identify key details for you,” he explained. This shift allows teams to focus more on decision-making and less on manual data entry.
Slate Support Post-Summit
With all the amazing new features announced this year at summit, having a Slate Preferred Partner to help you implement and optimize your instance will be crucial.
The Parish Group is a Slate Gold Partner, approaching Slate support through an enrollment manager’s eye. We even offer hourly consulting blocks or annual retainers–we’re like your outsourced Slate captain!
Learn more at parishgroup.com/slate or reach out at success@parishgroup.com or 828.505.3000
Together, we do BIG things.
