Customer Service
at the Forefront
Lisa Blazer. Assistant Vice President, Student Financial Aid and
Enrollment Services-University of Texas San Antonio
&
Delisa Falks,
Executive Director Scholarships & Financial Aid
Texas A&M University
Goals for this session
• Discover why customer service is so important in your
office
• Why core values are so important
• Evaluate two different models for excellent customer
service
• See their success, accomplishments, outcomes and
challenges
• Discover innovative practices that may help you improve
customer service
Texas A&M University
Delisa Falks,
Executive Director Scholarships &
Financial Aid
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Scholarships & Financial Aid Office
• 50,000 students(undergraduates, graduates
and professional)
• $514 Million dollars in financial aid
• 80% of students on some type of financial aid
hi
Goals of Customer Service
• To build a reputation of efficiency and accuracy
• To convey a professional image
• To help customers feel cared for
• To serve
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What determines the level of
customer service?
How the customer feels at
the end of the interaction.
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Core Values
• Integrity
• Relationships
• Excellence
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Integrity
We value sincerity, reliability, responsibility, and
faithfulness as individuals and as an organization.
We strive to make principled decisions.
In doing so, we seek to provide genuine customer
service, remain compliant, and uphold the vision of
Texas A&M University.
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Relationships
We value building interdependent relationships
within the department and externally.
We strive to increase communication and mutual
understanding and an appreciation of different
offices, departments, and individuals.
In doing so, we seek to compliment others and
strengthen ourselves.
hi
Excellence
We value empowerment, innovation, creativity, and
diligence.
We strive to be a premier organization.
In doing so, we seek to continually improve our
preparedness, efficiency, and service.
hi
Customer Service Goals
• Focus on the student first
• Contribute to a welcoming, friendly, and
professional atmosphere
• Know aid programs, processes, and opportunities
• Listen actively and seek solutions
• Deliver prompt, thorough, and accurate
information
• Follow through to resolution on requests/issues
Customer Service Strategy
• Demonstrate positive personal regard and
respect when dealing with the customer
• Be polite and courteous
• Create a welcoming environment free from
discriminatory or biased statements/ language
• Listen and respond appropriately
• Provided correct/accurate information
• Offer solutions/alternatives
Service Structure Evolution
• 1995
Two support staff at front desk
Two support staff on phones
• 2000
Two support staff, one student at front desk
Two support staff on phones
• 2005
One rotating support staff, two peer advisors
at front desk
Rotating Teams and peer advisors on phones
Rotating Counselors of the Day
Service Structure Evolution, cont’d
• 2007
One advisor, one rotating support staff, one
peer advisor at front desk
Rotating Teams and peer advisors on phones
Rotating Counselors of the Day
• 2010
Dedicated Service Team
Two advisors, one support staff at front desk
Three advisors, peer advisors on phones
Rotating Counselors of the Day
• 2011
Two advisors, one support staff at front desk
Three advisors, peer advisors on phones
One permanent, one rotating Counselor of the Day
Front counter - Service Desk
Counselor of the Day
Service Feedback
Call Center
Financial Aid Liaison Program
• Provides Regional Recruiters with a direct point of
contact within the financial aid office.
• The Liaisons are available to answer questions
pertaining to programs, policies, and studentspecific situations.
• Access to financial aid information in student
system.
Technology and Service
• Scholarships & Financial Aid Websites
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financialaid.tamu.edu
scholarships.tamu.edu
jobsforaggies.tamu.edu
veterans.tamu.edu
moneywise.tamu.edu
• Scholarships & Financial Portal
• Customer Sign-in System (CSI)
• Aggie Answers
Training and Service
• Training Specialist
• Training Curriculum
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For full-time advisors
For full-time support staff
For peer advisors
For regional advisors
For admissions counselors
• Weekly Staff Training
• Compliance is a MUST
Measuring Success
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Customer Comment Cards
Periodic Surveys
Observation
Focus Groups
Advisory Boards
Other
We are interested in your experience with visiting our
office today. Please take a moment to share your
thoughts.
1. Was the staff member assisting you friendly?
Not at all Somewhat Absolutely
2. Did you feel that you were treated with respect?
Not at all Somewhat Absolutely
3. Did the staff member assisting you listen to your concerns?
Not at all Somewhat Absolutely
4. Did the staff member assisting you explain your options?
Not at all Somewhat Absolutely
5. Do you feel that the time you spent in our office today was
worthwhile?
Not at all Somewhat Absolutely
If you have any comments or concerns about the staff member
you visited with today, please let us know:
________________________________________________________
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Academic Year 2010-2011
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44,143 Students visited our office
81,403 Telephone calls were answered
13,794 Main email box
85,757 visits on Aggie Answers
303 required staff research/responseAggie Answers
• Note we have other email inboxes
Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Sent each fall to a random sample of aid
recipients
• Assesses the following services:
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Website
Portal
Email notifications
Telephone service
Help desk service
Advising
2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey
• In regards to our telephone service:
– 80.4% rated Friendliness as good or excellent
– 81.7% rated Approachability as good or excellent
– 85.7% rated Professionalism as good or excellent
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• In regards to in-person service:
– 85.5% rated Approachability as good or excellent
– 88.8 % rated Friendliness as good or excellent
– 91.3% rated Professionalism as good or excellent
2010 Customer Satisfaction Survey
• Overall rating of Scholarships & Financial
Aid:
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36.6% Excellent
48.7% Good
9.4% OK
5.3% Needs Improvement
• Overall rating of Scholarships & Financial
Aid:
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36.6% Excellent
48.7% Good
9.4% OK
5.3% Needs Improvement
SFA Service Commitment
G reet each visitor promptly and warmly.
I nform students and parents of options for funding an education.
G uide students through application for and processing of financial aid.
E xplain terms and conditions of financial aid awards clearly and thoroughly.
M aximize federal, state, and institutional financial aid options.
A dvise on campus resources available to students.
G ive information on outside funding resources.
S erve each student according to individual needs.
University of Texas San Antonio
Lisa Blazer. Assistant Vice President
Student Financial Aid and Enrollment
Services
Delivering our Promise to
Students at UTSA
• We promise to serve students by providing excellent
customer service, accurate information and quick and
efficient processing.
• Core Values
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Honesty/Respect
Teamwork
Continuous Improvement
Accuracy
Service
Excellence in What We Do – The 4 Cs
• Communicate - To achieve excellence in service and
programming, Student Financial Aid and Enrollment
Services professionals must effectively communicate by:
– Providing clear, concise, knowledgeable, accurate and timely
information;
– Using multiple means of communication
– Identifying and anticipating needs
– Serving as advocates
– Suspending assumptions
– Listening to understand
– Understanding and respecting diverse perspectives
– Interacting in a professional and courteous manner
– Being accountable for our own actions
Excellence in What We Do – The 4 Cs
• Connect – To achieve excellence in service and
programming, Student Financial Aid and Enrollment
Services professionals must connect by:
– Making every interaction positive and memorable
– Realizing every moment provides an opportunity to make a
positive and lasting impact
– Engaging the community in the process
– Providing individualized attention
– Building relationships and community
– Recognizing the dignity and worth of the individual
– Showing appreciation
– Providing a nurturing and safe environment
– Recognizing and honoring commonalities and differences
Excellence in What We Do – The 4 Cs
• Collaborate – To achieve excellence in services and
programming, Student Financial Aid and Enrollment
Services professionals must collaborate by:
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Effectively utilizing resources
Cooperatively working with others
Building and maintaining lasting relationships and community
Being open to change and diverse ideas
Practicing mutual respect
Creating synergy across the division and the university
Balancing service with operating procedures and policies
Learning to appreciate the duties and responsibilities of others
Excellence in What We Do – The 4 Cs
• Create – To achieve excellence in services and
programming, Student Financial Aid and Enrollment
Services professionals must create unique and innovative
experiences by:
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Recruiting individuals who are passionate about student success
Taking risks
Working to reduce obstacles
Building stability through our daily actions
Researching new trends
Fostering creative, safe and welcoming opportunities
Assessing and analyzing results
Encouraging input across the division
Challenging the status quo
Outcomes of Excellence Include:
• Communicate – peak seasons are successfully managed;
guidelines and priority dates are met; we are the last to serve
• Connect – we are creating a positive experience for students; we
are fully present; the students trust us
• Collaborate – we are providing resources and making students
aware; we are working closely with several offices to ensure
excellent service (fiscal services, academic advising, Academic
Affairs)
• Create – creating new ways of communicating with our students
through social media and outreach; we continually evolve in our
interactions with students and with each other; we see a lot of
change from federal and state regulations – we accept the
challenges as opportunities
Our Structure – Brief History
• Student Enrollment
Services – frontline one-stopshop serving approximately
31,000 current UTSA students
in person, on the phones, via
email, outreach, website and
Ask Rowdy – financial aid,
admissions, registrar, fiscal
payments
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Main Campus Counter
Downtown Counter
Main Campus Call Center
Outreach
• Student Financial Aid –
processing and stewardship of
all financial aid funds and
awarding - $236 million per
year
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Scholarships
Special Grants/Programs
Student Loans
Verification/Imaging
Information Technologyprocessing
• Administration
– Compliance/Risk Management
– Administrative/Office
Management/Training
Our Structure – Brief History
• The first Enrollment Services Center was established at the
Downtown Campus in 1997 and then opened at the Main campus
in 1998 – reporting to the VP Student Affairs
• Initially, there was much confusion from students and staff since no
one knew what an Enrollment Services Officer represented
• Supervision shifted to the Assistant VP for Financial Aid in 2003 and
the first Call Center was established – answering calls about
admissions, registrar, financial aid and fiscal services
• Hired a Director of Enrollment Services in 2004 (maintained the
Director of Financial Aid position)
• Increased staff from 18 in 2004 to 30 in 2007 for the Enrollment
Services Center
Our Structure – Brief History
• Throughout the “growing pains” of becoming a onestop, our office experience many restructurings
• To accommodate our new structure, we had a
successful office remodeling
• 3 Week Training Curriculum for all new Financial Aid
Officers and Enrollment Services Officers
• Enrollment Services Officers also handle all special
circumstances and help with awarding, working special
reports, verification, etc.
• Financial Aid Officers – rotate at the counter/phones
during peak times (lunch, 5-6 pm, skeleton crew and to
bring the lines down – A and B groups on call
Main Campus Counter
Downtown Campus Counter
Call Center – Main Campus
Counseling – Main Campus
Compliance and Training
• Annual Audits – we must continue to stay compliant with federal,
state and institutional guidelines and controls – affects our ability to
provide quality customer service
• Risk Management Tools – we have to mitigate risks by identifying
those items that could put our office and the university at risk
• Training – Consistent and quality training is essential to providing
quality service and meeting our excellence guidelines – we hired a
trainer to:
– Provide 3 week new hire training curriculum
– Provide ongoing compliance and regulatory training
– Provide professional development training including customer service,
professionalism and teamwork
– Coordinates annual Student Financial Aid and Enrollment Services
conference every March
Assessment – How Are We Doing?
• Student Satisfaction Outcomes
– Measure whether students are satisfied with our office
– Focus Groups – discover new ways of providing information to
students
– Online customer satisfaction surveys – 87% rated our customer service
as acceptable or higher – of that 70% rate our customer service as
good or excellent
• Student Learning Outcomes – through financial literacy; orientation
presentations “Money Matters”;
• Operational Outcomes – created rubrics to help evaluate staff
– Student Service – 90.1%
– Paperwork Processing – 90-95%
– Emails – 85-90%
Technology- How We Use It
• Goal during 2010-11 – increase communication
opportunities with our students – Instant Communication
– Ask Rowdy – Knowledge Based Software Program – FAQ system
• During 2010-11 – 355,982 questions asked
• Response rate has improved from 88.37% to 93.87%
– Formation of a Communications Committee – staff from
Enrollment Services and Financial Aid
• Varied perspectives on how we communicate with students
• Increased Facebook followers by holding Financial Aid Contests
• Created ASAP (Banner web for students) modules teaching how to
navigate
• Improvement of website
• Twitter – instant communication
Accomplishments - ESC
• Student Served during 2010-11
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86,000 at Main Campus Counter
36,000 at Downtown Campus Counter
223,000 Calls received in the Call Center
592 Counseling Appointments (walk-in and scheduled)
More than $500,000 in credit card payments in the call
center
– 11,000 Emails responded to for Financial Aid
– 3575 Emails responded to for Registrar
– Outreach Team had 71,000 contacts at 513 events
(through San Antonio outreach team and Rio Grande
Valley outreach rep)
Accomplishments - FA
• Online Scholarship Application – increased our volume
from 2500 to more than 9000 applications for the 2010-11
year – For 2011-12 more than 11,000
• Created new Roadrunner Scholarship as a recruiting tool –
yield rate increase was higher than expected – more than
10%
• Continued to provide the UTSAccess Program –
collaborated with Academic Affairs to create a cohort and
providing tutoring and advising on a regular basis –
improved retention in program
• For 2011-12 – new donor at $28 million for scholarships –
able to create $10-20,000 per year in scholarship funds to
more than 36 students
Future Directions in SFAES –
2016 Goals
• Become a Paperless Office
• Create More Self-Serve opportunities for
students
• Create more staff development opportunities
• Fully Develop Financial Literacy Programs
• Train UTSA Staff and Faculty
• Automate and Streamline Processes, Compliance
Management and Funds Management
• Look for ways to be proactive instead of reactive
Making it all happen on both
campuses…
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Communication, communication, communication….
Educate, Educate, Educate (staff and students)
Ensure your staff has information pertinent to do their jobs
On-going training is key
Provide pertinent updates in a timely fashion (to staff and
students)
• Let students know you care – value them as individuals
• Be consistent in your communication, awarding and
processing
• Continually assess how you are doing and make
improvements
Contact Information
Lisa Blazer – lisa.blazer@utsa.edu
Delisa Falks – delisaf@tamu.edu