It's long been debated on whether higher education institutions should treat students as customers, but nonetheless, leading institutions have always been focused on delivering differentiating support to their students, parents, and other key stakeholders including faculty and staff. Today, with alternative, remote, and sometimes even low or no-cost forms of higher education available, this focus has become even more important and increasingly augmented by technology. To guarantee it was providing the best and most innovative education and student support experience, the University of Worcester turned to 8x8.

Graduating from incumbent systems

The University of Worcester is a modern, mid-sized UK university with an approach to student support and communication that has consistently gained recognition within the sector, including winning and being shortlisted for several support and education awards.

Recent changes to employee work patterns and the evolving needs of students meant the university’s old support technology couldn’t keep up with the rapid pace of change. It operated several distinct systems including an on-premises business phone and third-party contact center solution, all ripe for transformation.

The university’s next solution needed to work for many different personas—not just students and parents— but faculty, staff, and lecturers—and cater to their varied needs. As Ged Atwood, Head of IT Operations at the University of Worcester, commented, “It’s key for a successful communication system that you understand the requirements of all your stakeholders, from top to bottom, to improve their day-to-day lives.”

Leveraging a single cloud platform with messaging for the next generation

To improve the day-to-day lives of all its stakeholders, 8x8 offered the University of Worcester a single-provider platform that consolidated its communications and contact center solutions into one. 8x8’s platform offering for the university comprised 8x8 Work, a cloud-based business phone solution, 8x8 Contact Centre, and 8x8’s Voice for Microsoft Teams integration. These have given the university a simple, enterprise-wide solution that is:

  • Scalable
  • Easy to manage
  • Compatible with hybrid work and varied endpoint devices
  • Efficient to handle large call volumes during peak seasons
  • Tailored to provide top-notch telecom support services

Commenting on the scalability of the solution and how it supports the student experience, Martin Whiteside, University of Worcester CIO, said, “Student care, welfare, and wellbeing are critical to the core of what the university does. We believe the 8x8 platform is a system that will grow with us, will scale, and do more to meet student needs.”

For Worcester, one especially important way that its new 8x8 system does more to meet student needs is through the chat and messaging functionality. As highlighted by Forbes, 85% of Gen-Zers prefer to use chat or messaging when communicating with organizations. 8x8’s solution allows Worcester to adapt to the generational exceptions of its users and offer them the communication channels they prefer.

However, alongside generational preferences, there are many reasons students may not like talking on the phone and prefer to use chat. And by having chat and messaging, all universities can greatly enhance their student experience by meeting their diverse needs.

For example, 22% of UK university students are international students, so English may be their second language. Using chat to access services may be easier and more comfortable for them. And with 8x8 Multilingual Support for Chat, universities can even offer foreign students web chats in their native languages without the need for multilingual support staff, helping better accommodate international students.

Chat can also improve wellbeing and support services, making them easier to access and increasing usage. Most students live in shared accommodation, which means they may prefer more private communication channels when accessing support services. For instance, students who want to use university counseling might not want to talk on the phone. Offering chat functionality as a first point of contact can allow students to access wellbeing services privately and then counselors can organize in-person meetings to offer more support. This can help lower the barrier to accessing support services, making it easier for more students to receive the support they need.

Leading by future-proofing student support

There are many other benefits of having a single-provider communication platform within your university alongside ease of management, scalability, and enhancement of the student experience via new communication channels. As Ged Atwood head of IT at Worcester highlighted, every stakeholder in the university can benefit. To learn more, read the full University of Worcester case study here, or watch this short video.