Alliance Française de San Francisco
About
Alliance Française de San Francisco is a leading member of the global Alliance Française network, delivering French language education, cultural events, and community programs in the United States. The organisation has been using Oncord since 2018 and was the first Alliance Française in the US to adopt the platform.
The Challenge
Before moving to Oncord, Alliance Française de San Francisco was using Arc-en-Ciel to manage its operations. As the organisation grew, the team needed a more integrated and flexible system that could support classes, events, communications, and reporting within a single platform.
Key challenges included managing student engagement across multiple touchpoints, gaining clear visibility into class performance, and supporting a small team with limited time during critical periods such as the start of a session. The organisation also needed a solution that could scale across teams while allowing controlled access for new staff members.
The Solution
Alliance Française de San Francisco migrated from Arc-en-Ciel to Oncord in 2018. While the transition involved data-related challenges, the Oncord support team worked closely with the organisation to resolve issues and ensure a smooth migration.
“We had some issues at the time, but we had a great support team from Oncord to solve all the issues, and we didn’t regret it.”
Oncord provided a fully integrated platform, allowing the team to view activity from a student’s perspective. Staff can easily see whether students are engaging with emails, registering for events, or remaining active over time.
“I like that everything is integrated and that we can see everything from one student’s point of view.”
The platform’s Alliance-specific modules, including events and library management, support the organisation’s core mission. Visual statistics and reporting enable the team to quickly assess class performance and focus attention where it is needed most.
“It’s really visual. You can see what needs attention at a glance.”
Oncord’s permission system also allows the organisation to onboard new team members gradually by granting access only to the modules they need, adding more responsibility as confidence grows.
The Results
After more than six years on Oncord, Alliance Française de San Francisco continues to rely on the platform as a central operational system.
The organisation benefits from a single, integrated tool that supports both small and large teams, improves visibility across classes and student activity, and enables efficient decision-making even with limited resources.
“For me, it’s great that I only have one tool.”
With clear reporting, modular access, and ongoing platform evolution, Oncord supports Alliance Française de San Francisco in delivering its mission while adapting to changing needs over time.
“Oncord is really great for both small and big Alliances.”