Dear Graduate Education Community,
After 18 months of rigorous evaluation, review, and consultation, we are thrilled to announce that USC has selected Element451 as our platform for a new enrollment management system. This decision, informed by the voices of stakeholders across our campus, marks a bold step forward in transforming the graduate student experience—from initial inquiry to graduation. Element1801 will be the customized solution at USC.
We heard you. While critical issues within the admissions process were clear, we also identified widespread opportunities to improve the entire enrollment journey through stronger systems, better integration, and a more student-centered approach. The new system is uniquely positioned to support the full graduate student life cycle and help us achieve that vision.
Why Now?
In today’s rapidly shifting graduate education landscape, our current systems no longer
meet the expectations of prospective students, staff, or institutional goals. Fragmented
data, manual processes, and lack of integration with core tools like Banner hinder
our ability to move quickly and decisively. Meanwhile, our peers are adopting modern,
agile platforms that enable them to respond to students in real time, personalize
engagement, and act on predictive insights.
The risk of waiting is too great. Delaying this transformation only increases the gap between what our students need and what we can deliver. With the implementation of Element1801, we will streamline operations, accelerate application processing, improve communications, and empower our faculty and staff with the tools they need to support graduate student success.
The Vision Behind Element1801
Our strategic vision for Element1801 is rooted in creating a unified system that offers:
- Streamlined operations through one integrated platform
- An enhanced student experience via intuitive interfaces, mobile access, and proactive alerts
- Empowered faculty, administrators, and staff with near/real-time data, milestone tracking, and student indicators
This is more than a technology upgrade—it’s a strategic imperative and a shared commitment to shaping the future of graduate education at USC.
Save the Date: Element1801 Kickoff on September 9 at 10:00 AM via Teams
We invite you to join us for the official Element1801 Project Kickoff on September
9 at 10:00 AM via Teams, where we’ll introduce the start of a 6-month initiative to
configure and customize the solution to meet the needs of the USC graduate community.
This September marks the beginning of the development stage, with the Spring semester
as our target for the first phase of use. Importantly, this is not the end of the
journey but the start of a broader, multi-stage transition to centralizing and strengthening
the work of graduate education. The September kickoff will be the first of many opportunities
to learn more, contribute, and shape how Element1801 evolves at USC.
Stay tuned for the launch of the Element1801 website in early September and look out for regular updates via the Element1801 newsletter as the project progresses.
We are so excited to embark on this journey with you. Together, as the Remarkable We at USC, we’re building a more agile, student-focused, and data-informed future starting now.
In partnership and progress,
Ann