To better understand changing
student expectations, the Kentucky
Community and Technical College
System (KCTCS), in 2006, launched a
mystery shopping study with prospective students who contacted one of its
16 colleges.
Results of the study revealed it was
not always easy to reach KCTCS by
phone or email. The college has spent
the last six years trying to improve the
customer experience. It purchased new
phone queuing technology to assist
admissions staff with calls and recently
unveiled a student services initiative
that includes plans for a 365-day, 24/7
call center. Like a number of community colleges across the country, KCTCS
has discovered that being there for
students who have questions is as important as being accessible to students
in search of an education.
rely heavily on referrals from current
students, parents, friends, and other
key influencers. A significant percentage of community college students are
the first individuals in their families
to attend college. These students often
need extra help navigating the admissions process. What’s more, research
shows that approximately 70 percent
of students entering community and
technical college require some type of
remediation and additional support
from faculty and staff. The majority
of these students are members of the
millennial generation. This generation
expects and requires exceptional service from enrollment to graduation.
A service approach is essential to
student success and retention, which
in today’s higher education environ-
ment is the key to organizational
success. Recruiting new students costs
money, while retaining returning stu-
dents costs little. Retaining students
through graduation is a big part of
how community colleges achieve their
mission.
Customer Service in
Higher Education
Researcher John Keith wrote in
2005 about the student experience as part of a study
on customer service
at the Ontario community colleges. He
found that college
students expect quality customer service,
and that they want it
efficiently and effectively
to meet their wants and
needs. Not much has changed.
Students today have several choices
when selecting a college—from online
colleges to for-profit career colleges
to four-year universities. In Kentucky
alone, there are at least 100 postsecondary options. In their book, Raving Fans:
A Revolutionary Approach to Customer
Service, authors Ken Blanchard and
Sheldon Bowles say that to stand out,
organizations have to create “fans” of
their customers.
Word-of-mouth advertising is perhaps the most effective form of higher-education marketing. KCTCS market
research from 2006 and 2011 demonstrates that prospective students
needs. Not much has changed.
Students today have several choices
when selecting a college—from online
colleges to for-profit career colleges
A service approach is essential
to student success and retention,
which in today’s higher education
environment is the key to
organizational success.
to student success and retention,
