Queue management systems are essential for universities and colleges. Today’s highly competitive higher education market requires Student Services professionals to focus on both retention and recruitment. Queue management systems with integrated SMS text communication are very effective. Student-centered retention strategies emphasize student satisfaction through engagement. Student Services professionals are leveraging social media and other web-based channels to engage students, yet SMS text messaging is often overlooked as a powerful higher education engagement tool with 97% of all students prefer texting as their primary means of communication.
Direct Commitment
School registration software systems do not offer queue management or waiting list modules that address student flow. The enrollment and registration process is arguably the most frustrating and challenging period for both students and administrative staff. Long enrollment and registration lines foster frustration and aggravation for students. Student Services professionals find themselves in dead-end situations that result in poor satisfaction results, particularly during peak enrollment periods, regardless of how good the school’s registration software is. Much of this can be avoided with proper student flow design and a queuing system.
Many institutions have made capital investments in redesigning student centers and administration buildings to alleviate congestion and improve student flow. In many cases, adopting a queue management system that uses SMS text messaging is a more affordable alternative to facility redesign projects. Redesign projects that incorporate SMS text or digital display queuing systems are also likely to be more successful in improving student flow than projects that do not include a queuing system.
Student prefers SMS text messaging
Students prefer to participate through their mobile phone. A 2010 study revealed that texting is one of the main reasons why students have shifted their computing and communication needs to their mobile phones. According to Michael Hanley, director of Ball State’s Institute for Mobile Media Research, 99.8% of college students have cell phones and 97% use text messaging as their primary form of communication. Additionally, 97% of all text messages are read (85% instantly) vs. 33% of emails. This makes texting the most direct means of engaging students digitally.
Higher Education Queue Management Systems
Queue systems have been effective tools in many industries to manage customer flow. Traditional queuing systems consist of waiting for your number to be called or displayed on a digital screen. Queuing systems that integrate SMS text messaging create virtual waiting lines where students can use their cell phones to find out their position in line without having to physically wait in line. Students receive a text notification when it is their turn (in some advanced systems, students can “text” and interact with the queue system to check queue status or request extra time). Today’s ideal digital queuing systems for higher education often integrate SMS text, digital displays, and self-service kiosks.
Student services professionals looking to increase student satisfaction through increased customer flow should consider the return on investment that SMS queue management systems can offer.