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Nov 22 2024
Management

3 Ways Universities are Keeping Students Interested in Higher Ed

Higher education institutions are focused on the student experience as a way to grow enrollment and improve retention.
Amy McIntosh
by

 Amy McIntosh is the managing editor of EdTech: Focus on Higher Education.

Elevating the student experience is a key goal of higher education IT leaders, who face pressure to offer frictionless and seamless access to technology for digital-native students with high expectations. Colleges and universities can improve end-user workflows for the customer experience by embracing these three areas of focus and translating them to meet higher education students’ expectations.

1. Take Advantage of Contact Center Solutions

Contact centers are more than typical call centers; they include an area with a “density of interactions,” such as admissions advisers in higher education, says Bryan Martin, CTO at 8x8.

Communication Platform as a Service solutions can elevate call centers with artificial intelligence (AI), voice bots, and improved audio and video clarity, says Anurag Dhingra, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco Collaboration. Interactions can be automated using natural language programming and natural language understanding.

Click the banner to learn how CDW transformed a Kansas community college's call center.

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2. Understand Contextual Data Analytics

Contextual data analytics enables personalized experiences. Agents receive detailed information specific to each customer. Student requests should be resolved proactively and quickly, Dhingra says. That means not putting callers on hold or making them repeat themselves. The contextual information that data analytics tools offer can help avoid unneeded conversation.

3. Explore the Benefits of AI and Automation

When universities use manual processes for a range of tasks, students, faculty and staff can become frustrated by slow workflows that produce a greater number of errors. Automation can improve productivity and reduce the risk of mistakes. AI tools can now listen in on voice and digital interactions, observe what is being typed and provide suggestions to agents on next steps, Martin says.

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