Western Governors University (WGU), an online education provider, has improved interactions between students and faculty, increased productivity, and saved costs by implementing Genesys Cloud.
WGU adopted the flagship Software as a Service (SaaS) solution from Genesys, a leader in omnichannel customer experience and contact center solutions, for its proven stability, scalability and continuous release of new features.
WGU has nearly 4,500 faculty members and more than 120,000 students. Its goal is to help students earn degrees by providing a flexible and affordable education online with personalized instruction and support whenever they need it.
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“Genesys offered the chance to build the experience we always wanted. We want every student to feel their learning experience has been personally designed for them. That means making it very easy to connect with mentors, advisors, faculty — whoever the student needs to talk to. Genesys Cloud is the perfect platform to do that,” said Adam Davis, Director of Operations at WGU.
A Cloud-Enabled Contact Center Transformation
Like many organizations, WGU’s journey to the cloud has been multi-faceted. The first step was to move from an on-premises contact center system to a hybrid cloud solution, which enabled the university to improve both students’ and faculty members’ experiences. Then, the university wanted additional flexibility best served by a high-velocity innovation platform, which led them to Genesys Cloud.
With its public APIs, Genesys Cloud enables WGU to power new connections between applications and easily integrate critical systems, including its customer relationship management (CRM) solution. The university’s Program Mentors – faculty members who instruct and guide students at the program level from enrollment through graduation – now have better visibility into what’s happening with students and can use multiple tools like click-to-dial directly from their CRM.
“Now, with Genesys Cloud, students can call one number and be routed straight to their Program Mentor or Course Instructor,” said Davis.
“Or, if they’re not available, they can be routed to the next-best staff member. So, maintaining student connections during times like vacations or sabbaticals is easy,” he added.
Since implementing Genesys Cloud, WGU has experienced a 20 percent improvement in call response times. Additionally, WGU has already seen a positive impact on service levels. For example, within the university’s financial services department, over 80 percent of calls are answered within 30 seconds.
Efficient in More Ways Than One
Not only does using Genesys Cloud allow seamless relationships between students and mentors, but it also enables staff to be more productive. Thanks to seamless integration, WGU staff no longer waste precious time toggling between applications and screens. Additionally, instead of being tied to a terminal, supervisors can walk around with tablets and sit alongside colleagues, coaching and solving problems as they occur. Staff also can work from home — all they need is an internet connection.
Looking ahead, the university plans to expand its use of Genesys Cloud, onboarding 1,000 employees from other departments, plus another 1,400 new users from its faculty community. In addition, it plans to add support for new channels such as email, text and chat. WGU is also considering how artificial intelligence automation can make basic transactional tasks more efficient.
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