An Easy Fix For Decreased Enrollment At Colleges and Universities

Blog
Posted by Dennis Grove on 01, June 2012

Many colleges have faced a recurring problem with prospective student and parent communication. The university might release an ad on television and many people decide to call the university. During this time, the amount of calls to the college or university spikes. This causes a high number of abandoned calls. There also may not be enough trained agents or not enough agents scheduled. Another problem with these agents is that they can get “out of touch” with the students and parents.

The solution to this recurring problem is to incorporate a dedicated call center. It is important that the call center has well-trained representatives that will understand the college or university and handle students and parents accordingly.

 

Photo courtesy of MC Quinn

 

There are many successful examples of outsourcing college or university communication.

+ The University of Maryland University College had faced the problem of high call abandonment rates. They also had difficulty reaching their enrollment goals because of student dissatisfaction. Within two months, a call center was implemented and the College reached their enrollment goal for the first time in three years. Now student dissatisfaction is at an all-time low.

+ Montgomery County Community College understood the impact of answering student’s phone calls quickly. During the high call volumes of spring and fall registration, the college would backlog 30, 50 and even 100 calls! Students complained regularly as a result. They implemented a call center and now answer 80% of their calls within 30 seconds. Because of the new call center, those complaints have virtually disappeared. Enrollment increased significantly as well. (Take a look at the full story here.)

Universities and colleges deal with issues that require a great deal of communication with their students. One important issue that students face today is depression and anxiety. These are major health issues and Universities have to realize that more and more resources are going to need to be focused on these areas. (Alan Glass, M.D., American College Health Association, story here.)  Resources should include a call center focused on helping the most important piece of the college or university, the student.

The call center solution is being realized by more and more higher education establishments. It is being utilized because it maintains essential communication and has a proven return on investment.

Dennis Grove