Student Success Center at SWPS University
Headquarters: Warsaw, Poland
Students: 17,500 at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral levels
Campuses: 5, located in major Polish cities
SWPS University has implemented a strategy to enhance its competitive advantage in the higher education market in Poland by focusing on improving the student experience in the service processes. They have opted for an omnichannel approach, providing one-stop services on multiple devices.
To achieve this, the university has transitioned from traditional, paper-based, and office-oriented student service methods to utilizing Salesforce Education Cloud technology in conjunction with Genesys Cloud Contact Center. This technology integration enables efficient handling of matters for their student population, which amounts to over 17,500 students. The support staff team responsible for managing these services consists of 50 members.
The implementation of the Success Center solution required multiple integrations with external queuing systems and a qualified electronic signature solution. Moreover the implementation required data synchronization with external university systems.
Challenge:
Providing students with a high-level online, multichannel service
Automation of manual processes
Increase student self-service level
Increase student experience
Increase student extracurricular activities in the form of science clubs
Transition of the student service system to a digital form, enabling tracking of all cases.
Coordination of printing processes and manual signing of documents for delivery in paper for meetings.
Unification of various functionalities of multiple systems for managing meetings.
Solution:
- Salesforce-based Student Success Portal that can be accessed from both computers and mobile devices.
- Full (360 degrees) view of the student’s profile, including communication channels (telephone, email, messenger), applications, documents, processes, and communication history.
- Management of students’ cases submitted via email to the university’s support address (email-to-case functionality).
- Flexible student path, allowing students to choose the method and location of document pickup (on-campus or via mail delivery) and schedule meetings with support team members through an online calendar.
- Integration with Genesys Cloud Call Center to route phone calls from students to over 50 dedicated specialists in study programs. Skills Based Routing supports leveraging the team’s competencies.
- Automation of issuing certificates for students.
- Implementation of a digital process for generating responses to documents with a Qualified Electronic Signature.
- Creating and managing Notifications (different from Certificates) generated for students, also integrated with Qualified Electronic Signature.
- Involvement of academic and administrative staff in the decision-making process for student applications. These employees also use the Community Portal.
- High-standard user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) designed using LWC (Lightning Web Components) to facilitate student self-service.
- Configuration of a Home Page that provides all the essential tools for SSC support work in one place.
- Configuration of a custom Case Page according to the SLDS framework, allowing employees to have everything at their fingertips on a single case page without the need to switch between different sources of information.
Business Effects:
- Providing students with a ‘student success experience’ and a higher level of self-service in the new system.
- Reduction of manual processes and the need to deliver paper documents.
- Possibility for students to arrange their own dates for interviews, both stationary and online.
- Possibility to effectively establish a scientific students’ club through online matching with the right tutor and registration of their initiative.
- Reduction of queues on campuses.
- Improving communication between the university organizational units and students.
- Collection of a significant volume of diverse data, which allowed for improved decision-making processes at all levels, from individual cases to support programs.
- Shortening the time from the candidate’s application to the response.
- Strengthening the market image of the university as a modern educational institution.
- Implementation of a 50-person call center that can immediately respond to student inquiries.
Your university may benefit from this solution if it has:
- Manual and time-consuming processes: If your university relies heavily on manual processes, paperwork, and traditional office-oriented methods for student services, it can lead to inefficiencies, delays, and a heavy administrative workload. Implementing this solution can automate processes, reduce manual tasks, and streamline operations, resulting in significant time and resource savings.
- Limited student self-service options: If students face challenges accessing information, submitting requests, or managing their own cases, it can result in frustration and a high volume of inquiries to the support staff. By adopting this solution, your university can provide students with self-service capabilities, empowering them to access services, track progress, and resolve queries independently, leading to increased satisfaction and reduced support staff workload.
- Communication gaps and inefficiencies: If there are communication gaps or delays between university organizational units and students, it can hinder the resolution of student inquiries and create confusion. This solution offers centralized communication channels, a comprehensive view of student profiles, and streamlined collaboration among staff members. It bridges communication gaps, facilitates prompt responses, and ensures smooth coordination, ultimately improving the overall communication ecosystem.
- Limited student engagement and extracurricular activities: If your university struggles to foster student engagement and provide opportunities for extracurricular activities, it can impact student satisfaction and campus life. The solution enables the establishment and management of scientific student clubs through an online matching system and simplified registration processes. It facilitates student initiatives, promotes engagement, and creates a vibrant campus community.
- Inefficient data management and decision-making processes: If your university lacks a robust system for collecting and analyzing student data, it can hinder effective decision-making and hinder the development of tailored support programs. This solution collects diverse data, offering insights into student needs, preferences, and trends. It equips decision-makers with valuable information to optimize support programs, allocate resources efficiently, and enhance the overall student experience.
- Image as a traditional institution: If your university wants to project a modern, tech-savvy image and differentiate itself from other traditional institutions, implementing this solution can be a strategic move. By embracing cutting-edge technologies, digital platforms, and seamless student services, your university can position itself as an innovative educational institution, attracting prospective students and enhancing its market reputation.
Contact us
Marcin Pieńkowski
Salesforce Architect and Head of Salesforce
