University Clearing

Each year, tens of thousands of college students enter Clearing, a system that operates between July and September and offers a second chance to achieve a place at university for students who have declined an offer, received no offers, missed the deadline, or missed the grades.

The funding burden on students has created a very competitive environment amongst universities to attract the best students. To keep student numbers at an optimum, universities must deal more effectively with large volumes of student enquiries from the Clearing system. This includes handling Clearing calls professionally to avoid losing potential students to other universities.

Every single missed call from a prospective student is worth at least £27k to the university – and those applying through clearing don’t wait long before moving on to the next available option.

Connectivity via customer experience has emerged as a key competitive differentiator for contact centres worldwide and has allowed customer interactions to become an opportunity.

Clearing challenges for universities:

• Competition from other universities is fierce. Short term demand with high call volumes creates a risk that students may not get through to the university representative and choose to go elsewhere. Rapid response is essential!
• In the current hybrid working environment, agents could be operating from anywhere, which poses potential issues of connectivity and security
• There is a significant need to accurately monitor call volumes and performance, so you can optimise and improve contact centre operations
• Universities need the flexibility to increase users for a short term only, as more agents are needed to deal with the influx of calls at this busy time
• There are many channels open to potential students to access other universities such as chat, email and social media, so it is key that potential students are able to get through to your university quickly before they turn to other options

The solution:

• SCC AVS Contact Centre Solutions are available NOW and can be operational within 15 working days and can sit alongside existing internal infrastructure. It is quick and easy to get set up and ready for Clearing
• There is the option to scale up or scale down when it suits you – pay for what you use, when you use it, allowing you to be flexible and cost effective
• It is completely compliant and secure, vital for a hybrid environment where agents could be working from anywhere

The offer:

• Unlimited university representatives working from at home or university
• Connectivity via Internet, telephone, or another SIP endpoint (i.e. Microsoft Teams)
• Easy setup, management, and reporting
• Training and 24×7 support
• Call recording & call-back
• ‘Pay for what you use’ licenses – a true flex model

If you have any questions or would like to speak to an SCC specialist please complete the form below and we will be in touch

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