Devry Taps Rightnow's On Demand Solutions To Rapidly Improve Online Student Care
Goals
- Quickly deploy a case management system for online students
- Improve student services to help minimize attrition
- Retain integration/migration path to existing software investments
Achievements
- Multi-channel contact center implemented in just four weeks
- Responsive service and increased staff productivityIncreased student retention supports continued business growth
You don't get to be one of the largest degree-granting institutions in the country by skimping on student care. That's why DeVry University moved quickly to implement a crm solution for DeVry University Online. With enrollments more than doubling annually, DeVry's staff was challenged by the volume of questions they were receiving via phone and email.
By applying a highly disciplined set of methodologies, DeVry was up and running with RightNow® in just a matter of weeks. As a result, DeVry is now providing online students with the high quality service they need. So student retention rates are up—as is staff productivity.
DeVry was already in process of implementing an enterprise-wide CRM package, but the university also needed a solution to handle inquiries that could be implemented immediately for the online students.
That didn't mean DeVry was just going to grab any off-the-shelf solution. An extremely thorough requirements assessment was conducted to ensure DeVry would acquire the best technology for the job. That assessment included a comprehensive use-case analysis, as well as an itemization of the specific functionality needed to meet the needs of DeVry's online students.
Using this requirements document, DeVry began to evaluate technology vendors. Since rapid time-to-benefit was an essential requirement, the search was restricted to those offering a hosted model. "We did not have time to get bogged down in a complex software implementation," says DeVry's online student services manager Dave Trafton. "We wanted something that could be effective for us in time for the next semester."
DeVry looked at several vendors, but RightNow's hosted crm solution beat the competition for a variety of reasons—ranging from high-level advantages such as easier customization and better potential integration with DeVry's evolving technical environment to basic features such as more robust search functions and a built-in spell checker. In one case, a reference customer provided by a RightNow competitor actually recommended RightNow for the type of implementation DeVry had planned.
"Everyone got excited about what RightNow was going to be able to do for us," recalls Trafton. "It was clear that RightNow was going to help us eliminate our backlog and become much more responsive to our students across all channels."
Within four weeks, DeVry was up and running with its RightNow-based student care environment. RightNow's case management functions and automated business rules immediately enabled DeVry to more efficiently handle students' questions via phone, email and the web. Because students were getting answers in a more timely manner, they were no longer calling and emailing several times about the same issues. This helped to reduce workloads in the contact center. In addition, with complete student incident histories at their fingertips, DeVry staffers could easily address ongoing inquiries that had earlier been handled by one of their peers.
"Our productivity increased substantially," declares Trafton. "Everyone now has better tools to do their jobs."
DeVry University Support Site | DeVry University Homepage
About DeVry University:
DeVry University is one of the largest degree-granting higher education systems in North America, providing high-quality, career-oriented associate, bachelor's and master's degree programs in technology, business and management. More than 49,000 students are enrolled at its 73 locations in 21 states and Canada, as well as through DeVry University Online. DeVry is based in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
Greg Gianforte