Call Center continues to serve students

Two student workers monitor calls from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. They answer incoming questions and transfer callers to the appropriate individual or department on campus.

The Call Center is managed by the Admissions’ department, but answers more than just questions dealing with admissions.

“It is the first line of customer service, the first voice a person hears, and potentially the Call Center is the first relationship a person has on campus,” said Director of Admissions Lisa Stein.

The Call Center first received calls related to housing, financial aid, admissions, records and other student services in 2009. With the support of Dr. Randy Rhine, then Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Services, Stein started the Call Center with a few students. For Stein, the first year of operating the Call Center is a favorite memory.

“We didn’t know where we were going, we just went anyway,” Stein said.

In 2013, under the direction of Cassandra Ritzen, the Call Center began receiving all incoming calls and incorporated an online chat feature, previously handled by the IT department. Because of the extra traffic, the underlying telephone operations mechanism was reworked and new infrastructure was created.

The changes in scope meant Call Center workers needed more information to answer campus-wide questions. Ritzen implemented new methods of training workers and keeping them updated.  

“We wanted to see how much information our frontline people could answer for customers, ultimately to allow the other departments to remain more efficient,” Ritzen said.

Currently, the Call Center is under the direction of Sara Smith, campus visit coordinator. As a student, Smith worked in the Call Center. Now she uses that experience to train and support student workers.

“I do things a lot differently than former supervisors of the Call Center ever did, because I know what it’s like to be in their shoes,” Smith said.

Smith seeks Call Center employees who are well spoken and personable.

“We want to know they’re not only going to be good on the phone individually, but they also have to be a good team member,” Smith said.

Work in the Call Center is not physically taxing, but can be challenging.

“The hardest part is not knowing what the caller is going to ask you,” Smith said. “You have to think on your feet.”

Through working in the Call Center, students not only receive a wage, but also develop skills in critical thinking, customer service, and professionalism.

“The Call Center does more than what people know,” Ritzen said. “It is a wonderful thing for students to get to experience because it is tremendous for their personal and professional development.”

Stein, Ritzen, and Smith agree working with the students and watching them grow is the best part of the job.

“For the last 11 years we have had amazing students who worked for us,” Stein said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

—Abigail Swanson, College Relations